Mayuhorin
by Kalow
Summary: Toushiro’s ill mother sends him to live with his twin sister, Mayuhorin. Momo, accompanying Toushiro, becomes jealous of her, and soon discovers that Mayuhorin is not an ordinary girl…
1. Chapter 1

Title: Mayuhorin

Summary: Toushiro's ill mother sends him to live with his twin sister, Mayuhorin. Momo, accompanying Toushiro, becomes jealous of her, and soon discovers that Mayuhorin is not an ordinary girl…

Genre: Friendship, Family, Drama.

A/N: I was originally planning on putting this story out at the end of the month, but the idea was so good that I decided to start it now! Enjoy!

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**Mayuhorin**

Toushiro Hitsugaya was lying on the side of a hill, lazily gazing at the passing clouds. He appeared to not have a care in the world. That appearance was deceptive though.

"Toushiro?"

Toushiro turned his head to see Momo Hinamori walking up the side of the hill. Momo was Toushiro's best friend and next-door neighbor. They looked after eachother and spent most of their time with eachother. Toushiro was twelve years old and Momo was thirteen, though due to his high academic grades, Toushiro moved up a grade and was in the same classes as Momo at their school.

"What do you want?" he asked grumpily.

"Your mother wants to see you," Momo said. Toushiro immediately sat up, now fully alert.

"Why? Is something wrong with her?"

"No no, nothing like that. She just wants to talk to you," Momo said.

"About what?" Toushiro asked.

"Just come and we can see," Momo said. Toushiro got up to his feet and began walking back up the hill towards his house. They lived at the edge of a small town in an area full of grassy plains and rolling hills. They weren't quite in the country, but neither were they really in the city.

They walked up the hill, Toushiro's house on the other side of it. When they reached the house, they walked in through the back door. They stepped quietly through the halls until they reached Toushiro's mothers room. Momo stayed outside as Toushiro walked into the dimly lit room.

"Mom?" he said quietly.

"Toushiro…" his mother said from her reclined chair. She was pale and rather thin, with water, food, and medicine stacked around the chair. An old book lay open on the short table next to her.

"Are-are you okay Mom?" he asked. His mother smiled at him.

"I'm doing well enough," she said, "But there is something I need to discuss with you."

"What?" Toushiro asked. His mother sighed.

"I should think this is obvious, but I'm not getting any better. You've been taking care of yourself lately, but you can't do everything on your own, you need someone to help you, and that someone isn't me right now."

"You'll get better Mom," Toushiro said.

"With luck, maybe some day, but not soon," his mother said, "Unfortunately, I can't let this go on. You need someone to take care of you and raise you properly. I'm too sick to do that. In fact, it feels like half the time, you're the one taking care of me. I'm afraid I'm going to have to send you off to someone who can take care of you while I am unable to."

"Mom…please," Toushiro pleaded with her, "Don't make me go. I like it here, I don't want to leave. I don't mind taking care of you. Don't make me leave you and Momo and everything else!"

"I'm sorry, but I've already made the arrangements," his mother said, "In one week, you will be going to live with your father and sister."

"But-but they live halfway across the country!" Toushiro said in shock, "Besides, I haven't seen them in five years!"

Toushiro was shocked by what his mother had said. It had been five years since their parents split up. Five years since he had seen his father and twin sister. To him, it seemed like an eternity ago. Toushiro originally had two siblings, his twin sister Mayuhorin and his little sister Yuuki. However, when they were seven, a three year old Yuuki died in a tragic accident. It tore the family apart, and their parents eventually divorced, unable to maintain their ties with eachother. Toushiro and his mother left for their current residence while his father and Mayuhorin left their original home for a remote coastal area far away. Ever since then, they had hardly ever spoken to eachother, let alone seen eachother.

Toushiro and Mayuhorin had been very close at the time, and being separated from her made him lonely and depressed at first, and was initially unable to fit into the new town. Then he met Momo, and slowly grew attached to this home and the area. He didn't want to leave. He didn't want to leave his mother, he didn't want to leave Momo, and he didn't want to leave his home.

"Please Mom, I don't want to go," Toushiro said, "I don't want to leave everything and have to start everything I gained here over again."

"I'm sorry Toushiro, it's for the best," his mother said.

"But what about you? Who will take care of you?" Toushiro asked. His mother smiled.

"Don't worry, I'm not entirely helpless, at least not yet. Besides, there are a few neighbors who are willing to help me out. Don't worry about me though, just make sure that you are doing fine, and I'll do fine."

"What about Momo? I can't leave her! I want to stay here with her!" Toushiro said. Suddenly the door burst open.

"I'll come with you then!" Momo said.

"Momo, were you listening at the door?" Toushiro asked.

"Yes, but forget about that," Momo said with a small blush, "I'll come with you! That way you won't be alone while you're there and you'll have someone there to talk to! Schools almost out, so we can stay together at your dad's house all summer! Is that okay Mrs. Hitsugaya?"

"I think that is a wonderful idea, but is it okay with your parents?"

"Don't worry, it will be fine with them. I've already gone on long vacations with Toushiro before, so they're used to that sort of thing. How were you planning on having Toushiro travel there?" Momo said.

"By bus. It will be a three day trip with two night's at hotels," Toushiro's mother said.

"Okay, I'll go make the arrangements and get tickets right away. Don't worry, I'll take good care of Toushiro and make sure he stays out of trouble," Momo said with a grin.

"Momo…" Toushiro said, shocked that she would devote her entire summer to helping him like this.

"Don't worry Toushiro, it's not a problem at all. I'm happy to do this. Now you can go without being alone. I'll be there to keep you company and look out for you. Don't worry, everything will turn out fine," Momo said. After a moment, Toushiro gave her a rare smile.

"Thank you, Momo."


	2. Chapter 2

**Mayuhorin**

_Chapter Two_

"Are you ready, Toushiro?" Hinamori asked.

"I guess so," Toushiro said. They were preparing to board the bus that would take them to the home of Toushiro's father and sister. They each carried several bags full of enough clothes and other items to last them throughout the summer. Toushiro's mother was in a wheelchair held by one of their neighbors. She had insisted on coming to see her son off, despite his protests that she needed to stay in bed.

"Well Toushiro, I'll see you at the end of the summer," she said. Toushiro leaned down to hug her.

"Please get better Mom," Toushiro said, a tear running down his cheek.

"Don't worry about me sweetey, just focus on taking care of yourself and having fun. I'm sure your sister is dying to see you again."

"I guess so…" Toushiro said.

"We'd better get aboard now. Bye Mrs. Hitsugaya!" Momo said.

"Bye Mom," Toushiro said. Momo and Toushiro walked onto the bus and headed towards the back. It was a long distance passenger bus, so it was much more comfortable and spacious than the school buses they were used to. There were only a few other people on the bus. They sat near the back, hurriedly shoving most of their luggage into the overhead compartment above them and the rest at their feet.

They looked out the window to see Toushiro's mother smiling at them. They smiled and waved as the bus began to start. They continued to wave as they pulled away, watching as their neighbor began wheeling Mrs. Hitsugaya back to his car to take her home.

Momo turned to Toushiro once they were out of sight.

"This is it Toushiro," she said, "We're off!"

"Yeah…" Toushiro said.

"Don't worry about your mother, I'm sure she'll be fine. She just needs some time to get better," Momo said, understanding what was bothering him.

"I guess so…"

"Come on, don't be so gloomy! Just try to keep a postive outlook on things," Momo said, "You'll get to see your dad and sister after all these years apart, I'm sure you're excited."

"Yeah…but it's been so long. I'm not sure what to expect when I see them again. What if they're nothing like I remember? What if I don't like it there? What if Mom…What if something happens and I have to stay there and can never go home?"

Momo put a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't be like that Toushiro, try to be hopeful. Your mom wouldn't want you to be worrying about her like this. I'm sure your sister and father will be happy to see you, and at the end of the summer you can go back home to see your mother," she said, "Remember, I'm here for you too, and if you ever need to talk, just come to me."

"Thanks Momo," Toushiro said with a tiny smile, "I appreciate it."

"No problem, now how do you want to pass the time?" she asked, "We have a long drive ahead of us, what should we do until we get to the hotel? I brought some books we could read, or maybe we could play a road game or something."

"I actually was thinking I'd just rest until we get to the hotel," Toushiro said.

"What? You're just going to nap the whole way?"

"A boy who doesn't sleep doesn't grow," Toushiro said, leaning back and closing his eyes.

"You're still clinging on to that silly idea? Face it, you're just short," Momo said.

"No, I just need more time to grow. You're short," he said.

"I'm taller than you! And if you're going to be like that, at least give me the window seat so I can watch the scenery while you're being a lazy bum," Momo said. Toushiro remained silent, keeping his eyes closed and his head resting against the back of the seat. Grumbling, Momo reached into one of their bags and pulled out a pillow, which she put under Toushiro's head. She pulled out a lightweight jacket that she used to cover both of them. She snuggled up next to Toushiro.

"You're really difficult, you know that?" she said. Toushiro smirked, his eyes still closed.

"I know."

---

"Well, you slept the whole way, now we're here!" Momo said. They stood in front of the hotel that they were staying at for the night. The area was much different from the prairies and rolling hills of their old town. The area was full of bright flowers, deciduous trees, and bushes. It was a much greener place, though they were in fact in a city much bigger than their little town. It was evening, approaching night, with the blue sky becoming darker as time passed.

They had left most of their luggage on the bus, and carried in only what they needed for the night. When they arrived in their hotel room, they noticed that something was a bit off.

"Um…Momo, wasn't this supposed to be a split room?" Toushiro asked.

"Well, the thing about that is that those rooms are more expensive, so I thought it might be easier if we, um…shared… a bed…"

"Momo…" Toushiro muttered grumpily.

"Don't worry, it's a big bed! We can sleep facing away from eachother," Momo said, "Now what did you want for dinner?" Toushiro rolled his eyes at her trying to change the topic of conversation.

"I guess I'll order some pizza," he said, "Is pepperoni okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine," Momo said. Toushiro pulled out the phone book from the bedside desk and looked up a pizza place. He dialed the phone and ordered a pizza, hanging up after a minute.

"It will be here in thirty-five minutes," he said.

"Oh good, that will give me time to take a shower!" Momo said, grabbing some spare clothes and running into the hotel's shower. Toushiro sighed lazily and turned on the television to pass the time.

Momo meanwhile quickly stripped her clothes off and stepped into the shower. She jumped a little when the water, cold at first, touched her skin, but as it got warmer she began to enjoy it more. She got her hair wet and put some shampoo in it, sighing as the now warm water ran over her body. She wondered if they had nice showers like this at the house they were going to. She knew that it was in a semi-remote location, but she didn't know what to expect. It was still within the reaches of civilization, but it would definitely be isolated from a lot of other places. She was told the area was on a rocky coast with lots of trees, rivers, and lakes further inland, but she had been in the rolling plains of her home town for so long, she didn't know what those things would be like. It would certainly be a lot different from what she was used to though, she did know that much.

After she had washed and rinsed her hair and scrubbed her body clean, she stepped out of the shower, feeling clean and refreshed. She dried herself off and put on her clothes, stepping out to see Toushiro on the bed, eating pizza.

"Hey, why didn't you tell me the pizza was here?" she said indignantly.

"You were in the shower," Toushiro said simply, scarfing down a slice of pizza.

"You could have knocked on the door to tell me that it arrived early!" Momo said. She walked over and sat next to Toushiro, grabbing a slice of pizza. Toushiro suddenly turned bright red.

"Momo, what are you wearing?" he asked.

"My sleeping clothes," Momo explained. She was wearing shorts that showed a good portion of her legs and a tank-top that revealed her midriff.

"Couldn't you have put on some other clothing if we're going to be sleeping in the same room?" he asked.

"I see no problem," Momo said, "So what are you watching?"

"Nothing much, just flipping channels," he grunted.

"_Now back to 'I married a bear'"_

"_Your test results came back, I'm afraid it's as bad as we thought. You have acne-"_

"_And thus, Sweden and the Peruvian Llama Federation signed a peace treaty, but no one knows how long it will be before the PLF displays further aggression-"_

"_When in Rome, do as the Romanians do-"_

"_Today on foodnetwork, we're going to learn some great new ways to cook with gruel!"_

"_Baseball is the only thing keeping me from going insane. That and my kickass wooden monkey mask."_

"_Switzerland is neutral…too neutral. I say they're planning something…"_

"_New, from the inventors of non-alcoholic beer: Non-adhesive tape!"_

"_And I ask you, the International Church of Snake-Handlers, to donate your used rattlesnakes to poorer countries that are not as fortunate as us-"_

"_CEO of GM seen checking phone booths and vending machines for loose change-"_

"_~C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E-S-O-N-G SONG!~"_

"Hm, nothing good on anyways," Toushiro said, turning the television off.

---

They slept straight through the night, and the next morning they got back on the bus and continued on their trip. It was a fairly uneventful day, and they pretty much rested again until they reache the next hotel. The next night was largely the same as the one before it, but the morning was filled with significantly more excitement. They were almost there, they were both very excited at the knowledge that they would soon be arriving. They were still a bit nervous and unsure what to expect, but they were undeniably excited.

The bus ride was particularly enjoyable this time. As they drove northwards, they could see the terrain changing even more. There were rockier areas, as well as low-lying swampy areas. The entire region was covered in trees of all shapes and sizes, and there were many streams and lakes. Momo and Toushiro watched as they passed by the terrain, never having been in an area like this. About half-way through the morning, it began to rain, causing water to pool around the sides of the road. The distance beetween towns became greater and greater as they moved on.

Just as the rain let up, they drove into the town where they would be residing for the next several months. It wasn't so much a town as much as a small city, or at least that's what it looked like. Momo knew that this place wasn't that much more populous than the small town that where they had lived, it was just more concentrated due to its remoteness. The people here couldn't just drive to the next town when they needed something, everything needed to be available within town. There were lots of trees and plants, and the architecture of the place was very nice. The buildings and houses each seemed to have a lot more personality than the numerous houses built in mass by large construction companies back in their home town.

As they pulled up to the bus stop, they saw several people waiting, among them a white haired, teal eyed girl with a big smile on her face.

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Thanks for reading. Thank you to AznVKai, Assault Godzilla, Momo21, DW64, SunsetRainbow, Merciless Ruby, and animelover24271 for reviewing! I know this chapter was a bit slow, but it was necessary to help connect the story together. Hopefully you found a bit of plot development from it, or at least some humor. Please review!


	3. Chapter 3

Mayuhorin

_Chapter Three_

A girl with bright white hair and teal eyes grinned as the bus pulled to a stop. Toushiro and Momo immediately grabbed their bags and stepped out. Almost as soon as they did so, the girl ran from the side of the man standing next to her and practically tackled Toushiro as he stepped out, giving him a big hug.

"Toushiro! It's you, it's you, it's you!" she said excitedly. Momo stepped forward as the girl embraced Toushiro.

"It's great to see you too," Toushiro said as she hugged him, "It's been a long time."

"Are you Mayuhorin?" Momo asked. The girl turned to look at her.

"My real names too long. Just call me Rin," she said, extending her hand, which Momo took and shook.

"It's nice to meet you Mayu…Rin," Momo said, "I'm Momo Hinamori."

"Well, it's certainly nice to meet you." Mayuhorin looked like a female version of Toushiro. Her hair was a bit longer, but it was spiky like Toushiro's, with several beaded braids hanging near her left ear. Her face was a little softer and less brooding than Toushiro's, but the nose, cheeks, and other facial features were still largely the same. Her eyes were the same brilliant blue-green as Toushiro's. Momo suppressed a giggle when she realized something else about her.

"Hey Toushiro," she snickered, "Even your twin sister is taller than you." Toushiro scowled, but knew that she was right. Mayuhorin was a little taller than Toushiro, though still shorter than Momo.

"Well, we're not identical twins," Mayuhorin said, "We look similar, but that's just coincidence. We're fraternal twins."

"Okay, come on," the until now silent man standing nearby said, "We need to get your things to the house before it rains again." Toushiro and Mayuhorin immediately complied, picking up their share of luggage and walking across the wet pavement towards a parked car nearby. Momo quickly followed.

"Is that you and Toushiro's dad?" Momo whispered.

"No, that's Juushiro Ukitake, our dad's cousin. I think that makes him our second cousin," Mayuhorin replied, "I'll tell you more when we get to the house, we should probably concentrate on loading the car right now." Momo nodded and followed behind them.

As she walked, she couldn't help but smile. This place was really beautiful. Everything seemed to have much more personality. The buildings each looked different. Some were made of concrete and artificial materials, some were brick and stone, and others made of weathered wood. Each building was unique, and seemed as if they each had their own personality and story to tell. There was a small wooden shack nearby with a sign advertising bait and fishing gear, and next to that a rustic looking pub. Next to that was a red-bricked building that was several stories high, and across the street were several houses made of gray bricks and stones. Everything seemed so much more…alive. It might be lovely and diverse architecture in the town. Maybe it was the bright green grass, lush bushes, verdant trees, and moss covered stones. Perhaps it was the fresh, cool, moist feeling in the air. This town felt alive. She knew its population was about the same size as the town she and Toushiro lived in, but it felt incredibly different.

Momo had always liked her town, but this place…the two were incomparable. Momo's town was located in an area of grassy plains and hills in a rather dry climate, while this place was located along a rocky coastline amidst a forest full of many lakes and rivers. Her town was full of nearly identical houses with large yards all over the place with a few small stores and a school downtown, whereas here there were unique houses, stores, and restaurants located all over the place, and in a higher concentration too. The yards and space between buildings were smaller, but somehow this didn't make it feel any more crowded. Maybe it was just the sense of wonder of the unknown, but Momo was already feeling excited about this place.

"Watch your step Momo!" Toushiro said, interrupting her thoughts. Momo immediately stopped, and a small toad leapt out from right where her foot would have landed moments later.

"Thanks for the heads up Toushiro!" Momo said. They walked over to the car and packed their things in the trunk before getting in. Ukitake started the car and pulled out of the place they were parked.

"So how was your trip up here?" Ukitake asked Momo and Toushiro.

"It was pretty good," Momo said.

"Okay overall," Toushiro said.

"I bet it was quite the drive up, especially with that storm earlier. The lower lying areas of forest are completely flooded. The river and lakeshores are pretty flooded too, not to mention my basement. Not too much, but you should keep an eye on your place to make sure it doesn't flood too," Ukitake said.

"Um, where is Mr. Hitsugaya?" Momo asked.

"Well…" Ukitake said slowly, as if unsure how to respond.

"Father takes a lot of business trips and is usually out of town," Mayuhorin said for him, "When he is here, he generally keeps to himself, so Mr. Ukitake comes to take care of me when he can, even though I'm independent enough to live on my own."

"Well, I wouldn't feel right leaving a twelve year old on her own," Ukitake said, "By the way, how many times to I have to tell you that you don't have to call me 'Mr. Ukitake'; we're family, you can call me by my first name."

"Sorry, but it's become a habit _Mr._ Ukitake," Mayuhorin said, putting emphasis on his name. Ukitake chuckled.

They drove down mainstreet, going to the other side of town. Momo and Toushiro's faces were practically pressed against the windows as they looked at the town. They made a turn onto one of the smaller roads, and then again on a road that went to the more forested edge of town. Here the houses were more spread apart, several hundred feet separating each one. They had not gone very far down this road when Ukitake slowed down and pulled into the driveway of one of the houses.

"Is this it?" Toushiro asked.

"Yep, this is home," Mayuhorin answered.

It was a very large wooden house that had two floors and sat atop the edge of a gully. Behind the house was the dense forest, with tall trees towering behind it. In the front, there were smaller trees and bushes. The house was made of a dark, reddish-brown wood and was quite attractive. A short maple tree, a poplar, and several bushes sat on the grassy front lawn, with the back side of the house separated by the steep slope of the gully. Momo and Toushiro immediately stepped out, staring in awe. They walked over to the edge of the gully and looked over the edge. The house sat on top of it, and the basement opened up to the bottom via a sliding glass door. An elevated porch was at their level, a set of stairs going down the side to the bottom. The gully was fairly wide, and on the other side wasn't nearly as steep, instead forming a hill. At the bottom of the gully there were scattered birch trees and some wild bushes, and higher up in elevation were numerous pines, spruces, and other conifers as well as maples and other trees, with the treees getting denser as the forest went on.

"You two going to help?" Ukitake called. The two turned around, and realized that Ukitake and Mayuhorin were already unpacking the car. Embarassed, they immediately ran over to help.

"Sorry," Toushiro said sheepishly, grabbing the bag containing his clothing while Momo picked up one of her bags and put her backpack over her shoulder.

They went up to the door with Mayuhorin and Ukitake, each carrying a bit of luggage. Toushiro was in the front, and opened the door on the side of the house.

"Hi!!!" a girl with orange hair shouted just as he opened the door. Toushiro stumbled and fell backwards, dropping the bag. When he looked up the girl was leaning over him, her face just inches from his.

"Oh, hell Orihime; you're here already?" Ukitake said. The girl stood up, a grin on her face.

"Yup, I wanted to be here to greet you!" Orihime said, "That was a super awesome storm earlier! Don't you just love watching storms? Well anyways, welcome to your home away from home guys! I take it you're Toushiro and you're Momo, right? Great! Let me get those bags for you!" She bent down and picked up the bag that Toushiro dropped.

"Who-who are you?" Toushiro asked as he stood up. Orihime turned to him, a confused look on her face.

"Who am I? What kind of question is that? Didn't they tell you already? I'm Orihime Inoue, your babysitter!"

"Babysitter?!!" Momo and Toushiro said together in shock.

"No! You're not our babysitter! You're just staying with us at the same time!" Mayuhorin protested, "We're old enough not to need a babysitter, and besides you're only four years older than me!"

"Four _and two-fifths_ of a year older than you," Orihime said, resuming her big smile. Now come in, I have to get you all settled in so that we can all have lots of fun! I live only a few houses away, so it's no problem for me to take care of you guys in my spare time!"

Orihime led them inside. The doorway opened up into a path to the dining room, with the kitchen to their side, counters forming the boundary between the small table of the dining room and the kitchen. Beyond that was a fairly large living room, with several couches, reclining chairs, a TV, a fireplace, and a bookshelf. A sliding door went to the back porch, which they knew was elevated above ground. A hallway led to the front room of the house, and another went the other way, continuing past the living room. A set of stairs nearby went upstairs and another right next to it went downstairs to the basement, which due to the nature of the gully the house was situated upon contained a door that opened up to the bottom of the gully.

"This place is huge!" Hinamori commented, "I can't wait to check everything out, I bet there's a ton of cool stuff in this place!"

"Wait a moment before you start anything," Ukitake said, "You only just got here, so first you'll have to pack away all of your clothes and other things in your rooms. Then, we'll have to familiarize you two with the town and how things work around here so that things go smoothly. It won't take long, but we will have to work a bit before we can relax."

Everyone groaned at the prospect at having to work when they were already so excited. Suddenly the rumbling sound of thunder echoed in the distance.

"Damn! This bad, I can't let my basement flood again," Ukitake muttered, scratching his head and glancing at the other, "Okay…I have to go back to my house on the other side of town. Orihime, can you handle things from here? Make sure everyone packs their things away and go over the rules and everything?"

"Yes sir!" Orihime said, giving a mock salute to him. Ukitake nodded.

"Okay, thanks. I'll call you guys tomorrow to make sure you're doing alright. Sorry I couldn't help you out more. It was great seeing you again Toushiro! And nice meeting you Momo!" Ukitake said, walking briskly towards the door just as it began to lightly rain outside. After he left, Orihime clapped her hands together to get everyone's attention.

"Okay guys, so this is the beginning of our summer together! I know we're all going to have a bunch of fun!" she said.

"Hey, can you show me around?" Momo asked, "We can pack our stuff later, and besides I need to get familiarized with the place and pick a room to sleep in."

"Great idea! I've always wanted to go exploring in this house! I bet there's a bunch of trap doors and stuff! Let's go!" Orihime said, running up the set of stairs with Momo following behind her. Toushiro and Mayuhorin stayed behind.

"Your friend is certainly energetic," Mayuhorin said, "She's almost as excitable as Orihime."

"She's usually more mellow, she's just excited because she's never been in a place like this," Toushiro explained. They remained silent for a minute.

"So…" Mayuhorin said, "You're finally here." Toushiro nodded.

"Yeah, I guess so…" he said. They weren't sure what to say to eachother. It had been so long since they had seen eachother, they didn't know what to say. No words or actions could really express the way they felt. They were twins after all, and for years they had been separated. Should they be jumping up and down in excitement? Sitting down and having a nice chat? Just spend time together? Everything felt unreal somehow.

"I'm…I'm really glad that I got to see you again," Toushiro said, walking over to the mantlepiece extending from the wall above the fireplace. He picked up a photograph and looked longingly at it. It was a picture of their entire family. Their parents stood behind them smiling, and a much younger and more innocent-looking Toushiro and Mayuhorin were grinning in the foreground. In their mother's arms was baby Yuuki, then two years old and already possessing flowing white hair in contrast with the spiky hair of her siblings. The photograph was taken only a year before little Yuuki's death would shatter the family.

"You wish things were the way they were back then?" Mayuhorin asked. Toushiro nodded.

"Every day," he said, "Every day I wish we could all be together again. That mom weren't sick, that Yuuki was alive, that dad was back to his old self, and that we were all together again. I guess it's just a stupid wish. Things will never go back to the way they were before." Mayuhorin put an arm around her brother's shoulder.

"Well…not completely, but hey, we're together again, aren't we?" Mayuhorin said.

"Yeah, I guess so. It's just that…seeing you again, it just reminds me of old times," Toushiro sighed.

"Worry less about old times, and concentrate on new times," Mayuhorin said, "You and I have a bond that cannot be broken. All we need is eachother, and things will be fine. There is nobody who knows you better than me Toushiro, even after all this time, and just know that I'll always be by your side." Toushiro gave a brief smile.

"Thanks Rin," he said. Mayuhorin gave him a hug as they stared at the old picture of their family.

* * *

Thanks for reading! Thank you to AznVKai, Assault Godzilla, Merciless Ruby, DW64, animelover24271, and Momo21 for reviewing! The story takes place near an ocean coastline, but since I've never been to a northern area of ocean (only florida, lol), I'm basing the description on the coastal areas of Lake Superior and Lake Michigan, particularly Lake Superior's southern shore. I based the town on Munising, Michigan. Please review!


	4. Chapter 4

Mayuhorin

_Chapter Four_

A crack of thunder echoed throughout the early morning sky. Rain poured from the sky, dark clouds obscuring what would have been daybreak. Momo and Toushiro watched from inside, their faces pressed up against the sliding glass door that led to the porch. They had been woken up by the storm earlier and came out to watch it. There weren't often storms of this size where they lived, so it was a very exciting experience. Mayuhorin and Orihime were still asleep, probably more used to this sort of thing than they were.

The lights were all out, with only the occasional strike of lighting in the distance lighting things up. Whenever thunder boomed in the distance, Momo and Toushiro would jump a little, no matter how much they braced themselves for it. They could see that it was downpouring outside, the rain nearly as loud as the thunder.

"Whoa…" Toushiro said.

"Whoa…" Momo said in agreement.

"That's a lot of rain…"

"Yeah…"

"I've never seen a storm like this before."

"Does it do this often around here?"

"I dunno, it was yesterday, so maybe…"

"I read up on the area and didn't see anything about rain being frequent."

"It's really downpouring now though…"

"Yeah, it is…"

They were silent for a while, content to observe the spectacular downpour.

"So what do you want to do?" Momo asked.

"Huh?"

"You know, what will we do? We're going to be here all summer, so what should we do here?"

Toushiro thought about it. He hadn't actually thought about what they would be doing over the summer. The excitement and anxiety of seeing his sister again and the worry for his mother drove such thoughts from his mind. Now that he thought of it, they would be spending a whole summer in a place they knew nothing about. What _was_ there to do her? Surely there must be something, but he had no idea what they would be doing to pass the time. It would be a boring summer if all they did was sit in the house all day. His face must have shown a bit of embarrassment, because Momo apparently knew what he was thinking.

"So you don't know?" she asked.

"Sorry, I guess it slipped my mind," he said awkwardly.

"Don't worry, we'll ask your sister. She'll probably know a bunch of things to do. Did she mention anything while you were talking last night?" Momo asked. Toushiro stared at his feet.

"We didn't actually talk much last night," he admitted.

"What? But you've been apart for years! Surely you must have wanted to tell eachother what you've been doing, what you like to do for fun, and that sort of thing! You two have a lot of catching up to do!"

"That's the problem," Toushiro said, "There's just so much to say but no words to describe it. I don't know what to say to her. Nothing I say seems to be able to sum up what I feel. How am I supposed to just tell her everything that's happened over so many years? How can you even sum up that sort of thing? We've just been apart for so long…"

"Well I'm sure that you'll find something to talk about," Momo said, "You're still the same people, right? You two got along back then so you should get along now."

"Yeah, hopefully, but I can't help but feel a little odd around her, like she's a little different from before…"

"Oh that's just a little bit of unfamiliarity. You've probably changed a bit too. After you've gotten used to eachother I'm sure you'll realize the bond you two share is the same you shared back then," Momo said encouragingly, "Just give it some time, it would be unreasonable to expect things to immediately go back to normal between you two after being apart for so long."

"Suppose so," Toushiro said, gazing at the rain. After a few minutes he spoke again, "Is it letting up?"

"I dunno, maybe a little," Momo said.

"I think the clouds are getting lighter, so the rain will probably stop soon," Toushiro said.

They continued watching the rain as the flashes and booms of lightning became less and less frequent. The sky was getting lighter, the storm clouds thinning and daylight showing through them. The rain decreased, and soon was reduced to only a drizzle and the dark clouds turned into an overcast sky.

"You two are up early."

Momo and Toushiro turned to see Mayuhorin standing behind them, her spiky hair a bit more droopy than normal. She rubbed her eyes and gave a big yawn, brushing a few stray strands of hair from her face.

"How did you sleep through all of that?" Momo asked. Mayuhorin shrugged.

"Guess I'm a heavy sleeper. Or maybe I'm used to it. Or both. This wasn't that big of a storm really, we've had way worse."

Momo was about to ask about how often they had storms like this, but just then her stomach growled, causing her to blush.

"I don't suppose you have any food?" she asked with an embarrassed grin.

"Sure, just a minute," Mayuhorin said with a yawn. She walked over to the kitchen, dragging her feet along the way, "Is oatmeal okay for you?"

"Yeah, sure," Toushiro said.

"I'll have brown sugar and raisins in mine!" Momo said. Mayuhorin reached into the kitchen cabinet and took out a box of oatmeal. She poured some into three bowls and then put some water on the stove to boil.

"You want some coffee?" she asked, walking over to a coffee machine on the kitchen counter, "I already prepared the water, coffee grounds, and filter last night before going to bed, so you'll only have to wait a few minutes for it to be ready."

"Coffee? But aren't we too young for that?" Momo said.

"Don't see why we would," Mayuhorin grunted sleepily, her eyes still half closed, "How 'bout you Toushiro, you want some?"

"No thanks 'Rin, I don't really drink coffee much," Toushiro said. Mayuhorin shrugged and went back to preparing the coffee. Within minutes she had prepared herself a cup of steaming hot coffee, its slightly bitter scent wafting in the air.

"Um, are you still watching the water?" Momo asked. Mayuhorin looked over and saw that the pot of water she had put on the stove was boiling. Taking a sip of hot coffee, she poured the hot water into the oatmeal.

"Give it a bit of time to cook the oatmeal and cool down before you eat it," Mayuhorin said.

"I know how to eat oatmeal," Toushiro said shortly.

"Still stubborn after all of these years, eh?" Mayuhorin said with a lopsided grin, "You always were a bit rude and stubborn at times, little bro."

"Be quiet, you're only twenty seconds older than me," Toushiro said, rolling his eyes. Mayuhorin giggled a bit. "And what's so funny?" Toushiro asked.

"Nothing, it's just that last night you were so formal and sensitive I thought you'd changed. I'm glad that you're still your rude, stubborn old self."

"You're glad about that huh?" Toushiro said, taking his oatmeal and walking over to the table.

"Don't you want any toppings on your oatmeal? It's bland on its own," Momo said.

"I'm fine with it," Toushiro said.

"Okay, but I'm having brown sugar and raisins on mine," Momo said. She immediately began rummaging through the kitchen cabinets and soon pulled out a bag of brown sugar and some oatmeal. She began spooning brown sugar into the oatmeal.

"Wow, is that enough?" Mayuhorin remarked upon seeing the large amount of brown sugar she was putting in the oatmeal.

"Yeah, sure it is," Momo said, continuing to scoop brown sugar into her oatmeal. Mayuhorin rolled her eyes and walked over to the refrigerator, pulling out a plastic carton of strawberries, taking several out and putting the rest back. After washing them off she began slicing them up and adding them to her oatmeal. Toushiro meanwhile was sitting at the table, his plain oatmeal just getting cool enough to eat. He took a spoonful of it and was about to eat when he heard a familiar voice from behind him.

"Hey! You guys should have woke me up before cooking! I have to be awake to look out for you!" Orihime said, "Say, what are you cooking?"

"Oatmeal," Toushiro said, returning to his meal and bringing the spoon to his mouth.

"Oatmeal?" Orihime said, her eyes wide, "Noooooooooooooooooooo-" Toushiro turned to see her running as if in slow motion.

"Um, Orihime?" he asked, lowering his spoon.

"-oooooooooooooooooooo…" Orihime continued to shout, making running movements in a slowed down fashion as if she were in slow motion.

"Orihime?"

"-ooooooooooooooo!" Orihime finally reached Toushiro and knocked the spoon from Toushiro's hand and snatched away the bowl of oatmeal. "You can't eat this stuff! Neither can you two!" she ran over and grabbed the bowls of oatmeal from Momo and Mayuhorin too. Momo, who had just finished stirring in enormous amounts of brown sugar and raisins into her oatmeal stepped forward, greatly upset.

"Why did you do that?" she asked, "I just had it the way I like it!"

"I couldn't let you eat it! Tell me, what is oatmeal?" Orihime said.

"Um, oats?" Toushiro said slowly.

"Yes, but what's another word for oatmeal?" Orihime asked.

"Porridge?" Momo said, not exactly sure where this was going.

"And what's another name for porridge?" Everyone remained silent. "Gruel!" Orihime said loudly, "Don't you get it? Oatmeal is a type of gruel! And you know who eats gruel? Pirates! Gruel was a staple for the pirates of old times! Now today there is piracy in Somalia, and what is a staple food there? Gruel made from millet! Don't you see? Gruel turns you into a pirate!"

"That…makes no sense…" Momo said.

"Well I'm your caretaker and I can't take any chances," Orihime said, "I'll cook breakfast for you."

"I don't think that's such a good idea," Mayuhorin said, "Remember what happened when you tried cooking for your old boyfriend?"

"_Orihime, are you sure this is such a good idea? I really don't think I should eat this."_

"_Oh come on. I already told you, I'm a licensed Fugu chef. I got an online degree from the University of Tijuana. It's perfectly safe, so eat up."_

"_Then why aren't you eating any of it?"_

"_Because I made it for you, so make sure to eat every last bite!"_

"He got better…eventually…" Orihime said.

"He was in the hospital for three months!" Mayuhorin said, "Why don't we just go into town for breakfast?"

"Oh, but I really wanted to…oh forget it. Fine, we'll go out to eat…"

---

They sat at a table in a small restaurant waiting to be served breakfast. There were only a few other people present, all of them elderly. It was still early in the morning, and the recent rainstorm no doubt kept numerous people at home. The atmosphere was calm and relaxing, and they were all glad to be spared Orihime's cooking.

"I still say I would have done a fine job cooking you dinner," Orihime grumbled.

"We were having breakfast!" Momo said incredulously.

"Were we? Well you still would have liked it! I even brought over a pound of giblets that will go to waste now!"

"What are giblets?" Momo whispered.

"You don't want to know," Mayuhorin said.

"So what are you guys going to do after we're done eating? I'm sure you must be looking forward to a summer of fun!" Orihime said, changing the topic.

"Well, we haven't really thought of anything yet," Toushiro said.

"Yeah, we were hoping that Mayuhorin might suggest something to do," Momo said.

"Me?" Mayuhorin said, "I don't really know what you'd like. I suppose we could go camping or something."

"That would be an awesome idea!" Orihime said enthusiastically, "I can't remember the last time I went camping! Oh boy this will be so much fun! I'm going to bring marshmallows and sausages and potatoes and we'll roast them over the fire and we'll all sleep out under the stars or in a tent or whatever and we'll go hiking around and do all sorts of stuff and pick wild berries and go fishing and steal honey from bee hives and climb trees and roll around naked in poison ivy and-"

"Actually I was thinking maybe we'd go by ourselves," Mayuhorin said. Orihime stopped abruptly.

"What? But-but I'm your guardian! I'm-I'm responsible for you…" she stuttered.

"Well, about that…you're only a few years older than us, and when you take mental age into consideration…well, it just seems that maybe it would be better if we did things on our own and didn't have you with us all the time," Mayuhorin said.

"Does…does this mean you don't like me?" she whimpered, seemingly on the verge of tears.

"No no no! Nothing like that! It's just that, well, I'm older than I used to be and Toushiro is my age and Momo is a year older so it just seems…unnecessary for you to babysit us. It's nothing personal," Mayuhorin said. Orihime suddenly smiled.

"Oh I get it; youthful rebellion huh? Yeah, I guess a wise old person like me would just be a drag on your fun. Don't worry, I'll let you guys go on your little camping trip as long as you're careful, and when you come back I'll be there to tuck you in and give you baths after you've gotten this sense of rebellion out of your system, okay?" Orihime said, giving each of them a pat on the head. Toushiro sat still in shock, Momo seemed like she was going to faint, and Mayuhorin covered her face with her hand. Momo opened her mouth to speak but Mayuhorin nudged her.

"Don't bother, that's the most you'll get out of her," she said quietly.

"Give us baths?" Momo whispered incredulously, "I'm only three years younger than her!"

"I can hear you talking!" Orihime said in a cheery voice, "It sounds like I'm gonna have trouble getting _someone_ to take their bath!"

Momo was just about to protest that she was perfectly capable of bathing herself when she noticed the waitress coming with the food. She pushed the thought from her mind for the moment, deciding that she would force herself to believe that Orihime was just kidding.

The waitress put a plate of French toast sprinkled with powdered sugar in front of Momo, a Belgian waffle in front of Toushiro, and hash browns and sausage in front of Mayuhorin. The waitress then went back to the kitchen, returning moments later with a tray of food for Orihime. There were two giant pancakes, scrambled eggs, heavily burnt toast, maple syrup, and a jar of grape jelly. Momo and Toushiro watched in horror as Orihime dumped the eggs onto one of the pancakes, crushed and sprinkled the burnt toast over it, unscrewed the table's salt shaker and pouring half of the salt onto it, spooned jelly and poured maple syrup on it, squirted ketchup and mustard onto it, and finished by putting the other pancake on top of the disgusting concoction like a sandwich. They winced as Orihime took a bite, and forced themselves to look away and eat their own food. Mayuhorin looked on with amusement, apparently not at all surprised by Orihime's behavior.

When Orihime was done, she gave a big yawn and stretched her arms.

"That sure was a great meal, huh guys?" she said, rubbing her stomach, "I feel like I could go a whole three hours without eating after a meal like this. I guess I should go pay now." She got up and walked from the eating area to the counter to pay for the meal. Momo and Toushiro immediately turned to Mayuhorin, stunned by what they just saw.

"How the hell does she not weigh three hundred pounds?" Momo asked in shock.

"I honestly have no idea," Mayuhorin said, "Let's just go before she gets hungry again."

They got up and followed after Orihime. After the meal was paid for they followed her to her car and began driving back towards the house. Near the outer edge of town though, Orihime suddenly stopped and pulled over to the side. Before anyone could ask why they were stopping, she rolled down the window and stuck her head out.

"Hey Rukia, you need a lift?" she shouted. Everyone looked out and saw that a short, dark haired girl was walking alongside the road, wheeling a bike along the wet pavement. She froze and didn't speak. Orihime got out and walked over to her. She was very short, even shorter than Toushiro, and was several years younger than them.

"Do you need help? Did your bike break again?" Orihime asked kindly. Rukia nodded, not speaking. "I'll drive you home then. Get in the back seat; I'll put your bike in the trunk."

"Thank you ma'am," Rukia said softly, running over to the car. Orihime picked up the pink and purple bike and went to put it in the trunk. When Rukia opened the door to the car, she froze, her eyes wide. "Y-You… she gasped

"Hey Rukia, it's been a long time," Toushiro said with a nod, moving over to make room for Rukia.

"You remember Toushiro, right? Mayuhorin says you guys used to know eachother quite well," Orihime said. Rukia nodded and slowly got into the car without saying a word. Orihime closed the door behind her and went to the driver's seat.

"So Rukia, how have you been for all these years? I recall hearing that you'd moved up here, but I completely forgot and never thought I'd see you. How are you?" Toushiro asked.

"I'm fine," Rukia said quietly, her hands fidgeting in her lap. A bit confused at her behavior, Toushiro watched her as she sat quietly. It did not take long to get to Rukia's house, which was just on the edge of town a relatively short distance from Mayuhorin's house. When she and Orihime got out to remove the bike from the trunk, Momo turned to face Toushiro and Mayuhorin.

"Why is she so shy?" she asked, "No wait; forget the shyness, how did she end up here? If Toushiro knows her, she must have been from near your old home, how did you both end up in the same town so far away from where you used to live?"

"Father is a real estate agent. His travelling for his job is one of the reasons he's always gone," Mayuhorin explained, "Anyways, when we moved up here he helped get them a home nearby for a low price."

"But what about the shyness?" Momo asked.

"Come to think of it, she was always really cheerful before. What happened?" Toushiro asked. Mayuhorin remained silent for a moment.

"Don't you remember?" She finally said.

"Remember what?" Toushiro asked.

"How Rukia reacted to…you know…" Mayuhorin said slowly. Toushiro's eyes widened.

"You mean…" Toushiro suddenly grew pale.

"Yeah, you weren't around her much after that, but she was quite traumatized by it. It hit her every bit as hard as it hit us."

"What are you guys talking about?" Momo asked, "I don't understand." Toushiro took a deep breath.

"Rukia…was Yuuki's best friend. She was like part of the family. It…it was her who found Yuuki when she died…"

"Oh…" Momo said, stunned by the revelation, "I see…" She immediately felt ashamed for accidentally breaching such a sensitive topic, and remained silent even after Orihime returned to the car and drove them back to the house. Unsure of what to say, she said nothing when they got out of the car and went inside.

* * *

First of all, let me apologize for getting this out so late. I really have no excuse, I just kept procrastinating. Second, thanks for reading and thanks to AznVKai, Merciless Ruby, DW64, animelover24271, SunsetRainbow, Assault Godzilla, and Momo21 for reviewing! I'll try to get the next chapter out a bit more quickly! Please review!


	5. Chapter 5

**Mayuhorin**

Chapter Five

"_Shiro! Shiro! Shiro!"_

"_Hey Yuuki, stop calling me that!" a six year old Toushiro said, suppressing a smile as he played with his giggling baby sister. Yuuki was two years old and had white hair and bright blue-green eyes. Unlike her siblings' spiky hair, her's was long and straight. It cascaded over her shoulders loosely, which their parents said was indicative of her free-spirited personality. Yuuki always did whatever she wanted and never let others do things for her, all while wearing the most cheerful smile in the world. In front of her and Toushiro was a pile of blocks. Toushiro would build them into a stack, only for Yuuki to knock them down._

"_Down! Shiro! Shiro!" Yuuki squealed._

"_Hey, didn't I say not to call me that?" Toushiro said, putting on a scrunched up frowny face for her. Yuuki burst into laughter, repeating his nickname over and over again._

"_Shiro, Shiro, Shiro! More blocks!" she said. Toushiro was about to stack up the blocks again when Mayuhorin walked in._

"_Oh, hi 'Rin," Toushiro said._

"_Rin-Rin!" Yuuki said enthusiastically._

"_Can I play?" Mayuhorin asked._

"_Yes, but Yuuki knocks down the blocks as soon as they're done, see?" Toushiro demonstrated by stacking the blocks and allowing Yuuki to knock them down once again._

"_You want me to show you how to stack them Yuuki?" Mayuhorin asked. She sat down and grabbed Yuuki's hands, guiding them to the blocks to pick them up and stack them, "You see? You just pick them up and stack them? Isn't this fun Yuuki?"_

"_No," Yuuki said stubbornly, pulling her hands away and knocking over the blocks._

"_See? She doesn't want to build with the blocks, just knock them down," Toushiro said._

"_Okay, let's try this then!" Mayuhorin stacked the blocks up in an intricate pattern, looking at Yuuki expectantly. "Okay Yuuki, now knock them down!"_

_Yuuki spent a moment looking at the stack of blocks before looking back up at Mayuhorin._

"_No."_

_Toushiro laughed, and Mayuhorin looked at her in a puzzled manner._

"_But, I stacked them up the same as you? Why didn't she knock them down?"_

"_Because you wanted her to," Toushiro explained, "She won't do it if you tell her to; she's too free-spirited."_

"_I guess that's true," Mayuhorin said, patting a grinning Yuuki on the head._

Toushiro opened his eyes, finding himself in his room. He rubbed his forehead, thinking about the dream. He had been having dreams like that a lot lately. Dreams of when Yuuki was still alive, his mother was not sick, and their family was together. He shook his head. There was no point thinking of such things.

Toushiro breathed a heavy sigh, stretching in bed. This upstairs bedroom was slightly cramped, but he found it pleasant. The ceiling was sloped slightly, as the room was near the roof. It was a bit chilly in contrast to the rest of the house, but he liked the cold so he didn't mind. An old bookshelf that Mayuhorin said was present when they bought the house sat across from the low bed he laid upon. Toushiro had made a habit of reading some of those older books each night before bed, and found himself entertained by their contents.

He sighed contentedly, preparing to go back to sleep when there was a loud knock on his door.

"Time to get up Toushiro!" Momo shouted from behind the door. Grumbling to himself he got up and walked over to the door, opening it to Momo.

"Good, you're awake! Okay, I thought that before we go we should-"

"Why'd you wake me up now?" Toushiro grunted, his eyes still half closed.

"What do you mean? We're going camping remember?" Momo said.

"But we're not going until later, so why did you wake me up so early? The sun's not even up yet."

"I just thought it would be a good idea to get you up early so that we'd be ready when we do leave," Momo said.

"Well it wasn't a good idea. Now go away, I'm going back to sleep, Toushiro said, closing the door and walking back to bed. No sooner had he closed the door though when it was opened again.

"Okay then, if you're not getting up then I'll join you," Momo said, running over and jumping into Toushiro's bed.

"Momo!" Toushiro said irritably.

"What?" Momo said innocently, don't you want someone to snuggle with? It's awfully cold and you said you were about to go back to sleep anyways, so what's the problem?"

"There are a lot of problems, not the least of which is the fact that I am a boy and you are a girl," Toushiro said.

"Oh, don't be such a prude. We're friends, right? Nothing weird is going to happen."

Grumbling, Toushiro reluctantly got into bed with her. It was only a small mattress on a short bed frame, and thus was quite crowded. Momo immediately snuggled up against him.

"Mmm, you're so cuddly-wuddly Toushiro," she said, nuzzling up against him.

"Shut up," he grumbled, blushing furiously.

"Snuggly, buggly, wuggly…" Momo murmured, wrapping her arms around him in a big hug.

"You're just doing this to annoy me so I'll get up, aren't you?" he asked.

"Sure am. Plus, how can I resist when you're such a little cutie?" she said.

"Okay, I'm up," he said, getting out of bed.

"That's better," Momo said with a satisfied grin.

---

"I see you're up," Mayuhorin said from the table, a cup of coffee in her hands. In front of her were several maps of the area.

"What are you doing?" Toushiro asked.

"Just plotting out where we'll go. We'll be carrying everything we need on our backs, so we need to make sure to pick the most efficient route possible. I'm personally favoring just starting out walking from the backyard onwards until we get to Wallahoo Lake, then spending the night there and hiking a couple miles east before settling down again, followed by making our way home. That route is good for showing you a wide variety of geography, and it's easier to access from where we're located at right now. Alternatively, we could start out across town and follow the path of the Mudd River for two days before turning back for home. Personally, I find both to be good routes, so it's really up to you guys."

"I…have no idea which one to pick," Momo said.

"Me neither," Toushiro said.

"In that case, we'll just take the simpler route. Come downstairs and we'll pack our stuff," Mayuhorin said.

"I thought you packed them yesterday," Toushiro said grumpily.

"At first I was, but then I decided that since you two are both newbies at camping, I'm going to have to go through the list of everything we'll need while we're packing so that you know what goes where and what to do with everything," Mayuhorin explained. She led them over to the stairs and they walked down to the basement. When they arrived at the bottom, they found that in front of the sliding glass door that opened up into the gully behind the house were a huge variety of camping supplies.

"Okay, let's get started," Mayuhorin said, "First, and foremost, here are your backpacks for the trip." She handed them both large backpacks to them. "These are what you'll be carrying everything in. I'm already carrying my stuff and the tent and other heavy things, but you'll still have quite a bit of things to carry yourself. You'll each be carrying two canteens of water, your sleeping bags and pillow, a small map and compass in case you get lost, some foodstuffs, spare clothes and flashlights. Also, I'd like Momo to carry the first aid kit and Toushiro to carry the tarp and tent spikes. Understood?"

"Uh…"

"Okay, now start packing!" Mayuhorin said authoritatively. They both bent down and began awkwardly packing their things as Mayuhorin watched. They were quite confused about what to do. This was a rather spontaneous trip, and neither had much idea of what to expect. Occasionally, Mayuhorin would interrupt and tell them how to properly pack.

"No, you put the heavy stuff _under_ the food," she would say, "But make sure the first aid kit is reachable in case of an emergency."

"You're such a slave-driver," Toushiro commented.

"Did I tell you maggots that you could stop working?" Mayuhorin said in a mock-drill sergeant's voice, "Now get packing!"

When they were finally done and their bags were perfectly packed, Mayuhorin smiled in satisfaction.

"That'll do, now let's go get something to eat," she said, "We have a long day ahead of us, so we need to make sure we get all the nutrition we need."

They went back upstairs to prepare breakfast, where they found Orihime sitting at the table, apparently waiting for them.

"So, you're about to go then?" she said.

"No, not for a while actually," Mayuhorin said, "Probably in an hour or two."

"I guess you're getting along fine without me," she said somewhat bitterly, "You didn't even need me to help you pack…"

"Are you still mad that you're not coming along?" Mayuhorin asked.

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not," Orihime said.

"So you are then?" Momo said.

"Hey, I don't have to explain myself to you! I'm not the one who is abandoning people!" Orihime said.

"It's not that we don't like you," Momo hastily tried to explain, "It's just that…well, we just feel you wouldn't really fit the mood of a trip into the woods."

"Fine then," Orihime said with a pout, "If that's how you want it, then I guess that's just fine."

"Okay, then I guess I'll just get some stuff to make breakfast," Mayuhorin said, going over to the freezer, "But wait, what's this?" She pulled out a large one gallon tub of ice cream.

"Ha! You're going to have to do a lot better than that to bribe- is that what I think it is?" Orihime said, her eyes suddenly bright and alert at the item Mayuhorin just pulled out of the fridge.

"Yes, that's right," Mayuhorin said, holding up a jar, "Nacho cheese!"

"Gimme, gimme, gimme!" Orihime cried, running over and grabbing the ice cream and nacho cheese, "Okay, I take it back. It's great that you kids are getting in touch with nature on your own. It's better if I stay here anyways! Now you'd better get going before it starts to rain or something!"

"But the forecast doesn't show rain for the entire week," Toushiro said.

"I won't hear any excuses! Early is always better, now get going! You've got your stuff all packed up so it's time you guys started your little backpacking adventure!" Orihime said, rushing them downstairs. After she closed the door, she stretched her arms and walked over to the tub of ice cream and jar of nacho cheese. After pouring the cheese onto the ice cream, she got a spoon and began eating, a big grin on her face, satisfied that she had tricked them into giving her such a treat.

---

Momo and Toushiro panted as they followed after Mayuhorin, carrying heavy backpacks through the forest. The scenery was beautiful, with lush undergrowth and the sounds of birds singing in the distance, but the earliness and lack of breakfast made it significantly more difficult for them.

"D-damn that Orihime for sending us off without breakfast…" Momo groaned.

"We weren't supposed to leave until later…" Toushiro panted.

They followed behind Mayuhorin, who despite carrying much more on her back, was doing much better than they were. Presumably, she was more used to hiking and had developed stronger muscles.

"Don't worry, we'll take a break soon," Mayuhorin said.

"I want a break now…" Momo complained, taking a big drink from her canteen.

"Don't focus on the walking, focus on the nature! Just make yourself focus on the surroundings and it will take your mind off of it," Mayuhorin suggested.

Momo and Toushiro followed her advice, and to their surprise, found it to be relaxing. They began focusing on the tall trees and the leafy shrubs instead of their hiking. They watched the ground, occasionally spotting a chipmunk scurrying up the side of a tree or a snake slithering through the dead leaves on the forest floor. It really was quite relaxing, and made them feel silly for not thinking to do it earlier. Still, they were quite hungry and tired, and quite interested in taking a break.

"So can we rest now?" Momo asked.

"Not yet, I'd still like to get a bit more distance behind us before stopping."

"How about that little clearing up ahead, that would make a good resting spot," Toushiro suggested.

"If you stop thinking about taking a break you'll feel less tired," Mayuhorin said.

"But it looks nice, and it's only a few hundred feet away! It's the perfect place to stop!" Momo said.

"Oh come on, we've only been hiking for an hour and a half," Mayuhorin said, "You're not going to toughen up if you take a break every time you begin to get tired!"

"But we've been tired for a long time! We deserve a break!" Momo said. Mayuhorin rolled her eyes.

"Fine, we'll stop up ahead," she said reluctantly. Momo and Toushiro were quite satisfied, and when they got to the clearing, they immediately set their things down with huge sighs.

"Man, I feel like my back is going to split in two!" Momo said.

"I think my feet are going to fall off…" Toushiro groaned.

"We'll rest for ten minutes, then we're going to start hiking again," Mayuhorin said, her tone making it clear that there would be no arguing. Momo immediately opened her bag and pulled out a bag of trail mix, which she promptly began munching on. Toushiro meanwhile sat down against a tree, leaning against it heavily and yawning. He watched a small squirrel scurrying up and down a tree on the other side of the clearing, his eyes focusing on its tail as it twitched slightly whenever it remained still. As he watched, his eyes slid shut and he fell asleep.

"_Yuuki! Rukia! It's time to come inside!" their mother called out._

"_No!" Yuuki said stubbornly as she and Rukia played in the grass of their backyard, chasing around butterflies._

"_It's lunch time, and you two need to come in!" their mother said again._

"_No, we don't wanna!" Yuuki said again. Their mother sighed and went into the yard and picked both Yuuki and Rukia up, taking them inside._

"_But we wanted to chase the budderfly!" Yuuki said._

"_Well you can chase the butterfly after lunch, now come on."_

_Yuuki and Rukia were set down, and they promptly began protesting having to come inside._

"_Calm down. Here, have some baloney sandwiches," their mother said, handing each of them one of the sandwiches. Promptly forgetting their complaints, they both began eating their sandwiches. When they were done, they looked for something else to do. Their focus settled on Toushiro, who was taking a nap on the couch. They ran over and jumped onto him, causing him to give a yelp._

"_Shiro!" Yuuki squealed, crawling over him._

"_Hey Yuuki," he said._

"_Hi Toushiro!" Rukia said cheerfully, pushing him in the side._

"_And Rukia…" Toushiro grunted, grumpy over his nap being interrupted._

"_Shiro go down!" Yuuki said brightly, trying to push him off the couch. Rolling his eyes, Toushiro rolled over so that he fell off the couch. Yuuki and Rukia cheered, thinking they had successfully pushed him off. Before Toushiro could get up, they jumped onto his back._

"_Now you're a horsey! Give us a ride horsey!" Rukia said. Sighing, Toushiro began to crawl, Yuuki and Rukia laughing as he did so. He honestly didn't know why he did this, but he just couldn't say no when Yuuki wanted him to do this sort of thing._

"_Hey now, that's not very nice!" he heard Mayuhorin say._

"_He's our horsey!" Yuuki explained cheerfully._

"_Well he doesn't look like a very happy horsey," Mayuhorin said._

"_You wanna ride too?"_

"_No thanks, I'll pass," Mayuhorin said, "Now come on, get off of Toushiro, we already have plans to work on a puzzle together."_

"_No! We want horsey Toushiro now!" Yuuki said._

"_It's okay 'Rin," Toushiro said, "They'll tire themselves out eventually."_

"_She's never going to learn if you just let her do whatever she feels like, now come on," Mayuhorin said, trying to lift Yuuki off of Toushiro._

"_No! I wanna rid the horsey!"_

"_Fine," Mayuhorin groaned, setting Yuuki back down, "You can ride the horsey."_

_Yuuki cheered, and got back onto Toushiro, who at this point could not help but laugh._

"_You're such a stubborn kid, you know that," Mayuhorin said with a smile, ruffling Yuuki's hair._

"_That's how she is," Toushiro laughed._

_Suddenly everything went dark, and Toushiro found himself hearing anguished voices, _

"_My God!"_

"_Someone call an ambulance!"_

"_Yuuki!"_

"_She's not breathing!"_

"_Wake up Yuuki! Wake up! Wake up!"_

"Wake up. Come on Toushiro, wake up!"

Toushiro jerked awake, looking around in confusion.

"What? Where-"

"We're still in the clearing you dummy," Mayuhorin said.

"You fell asleep, and now we have to get going again," Momo explained.

"Oh…right, I see," he said, standing up, wincing at his aching feet and putting on his backpack.

"Okay, now let's go. I'd like to get to our camping place before sunset, we won't make it at this rate!" Mayuhorin said.

---

"This is it!" Mayuhorin announced. They stood in front of a small lake, the bank covered in reeds. It was nearly sunset, and the sky was quite dark.

"Wow, it's so pretty…" Momo said. It truly was beautiful. They were on a grassy area between the forest behind them and the lake in front of them. They could hear the crickets chirping, and in the distance they heard the splash of a bullfrog. The sky was colored in rich shades of pink, violet, and orange.

"It's amazing," Toushiro said in awe. He watched as a bat dove down and snatched a bug out of the air.

"Okay, we're here, now help me set the tent up, get out your things, and get ready to go to bed," Mayuhorin said.

"What? But we just got here! And there's all this awesome scenery, and-"

"And you've been dragging your feet the whole way here. We need to get to bed early so we can properly prepare ourselves tomorrow morning," Mayuhorin said.

"You're such a meanie, making us work like this after just getting here," Momo said.

"Hey, I'm just aware of the realities of hiking. I'm sorry if I'm coming off as bossy, but we really do need to hurry and set everything up before dark."

"Can we at least have a campfire?" Momo asked.

"No, there's no time," Mayuhorin said, "Don't look at me like that! I'm just stating the facts."

Momo sighed and laughed a little.

"Yeah, I guess you're right…" she conceded, "Now let's get the tent set up."

Setting up the tent was harder than they had anticipated. Not only did they have to remove all the small parts from its compressed storage, they had to do so in the dark. Momo and Toushiro struggled to get the tent rods in place, and when they did, they almost immediately fell down. It ended up being Mayuhorin who set up the tent, with them just holding the base in place for her while she pounded in the ground spikes that kept the tent anchored to the ground. When they were done, Momo breathed a sigh of relief and began to speak.

"Okay, now let's-"

"Go to sleep," Mayuhorin finished for her, "Any good hiker knows that you need your rest, and besides, at this hour there's not much we could do anyways. Get out your sleeping bags and go to bed."

Grumbling at being ordered around, Momo and Toushiro got out their sleeping bags and laid them out. Their's were normal sleeping bags, but Mayuhorin's was the type used by pro-hikers. It was small and compact, with Mayuhorin's head poking out the end, making her look like a caterpillar. Momo and Toushiro snuggled into their sleeping bags as well, shifting a bit in the cramped tent to find a comfortable position. Despite it being cramped, the fact that they were so exhausted from a day of intense hiking allowed them to fall asleep quickly, drifting into dreams almost as soon as they had closed their eyes…

"_Happy birthday Yuuki!"_

"_Happy birthday!"_

"_Happy almost-four!"_

_Toushiro, Mayuhorin, their parents, Ukitake, Rukia, and several other people sat around a table, at the end of which was Yuuki wearing a birthday hat and sitting in front of a cake. They were celebrating Yuuki's fourth birthday. Yuuki was smiling and giggling as people said happy birthday to her. Her birthday was two days away, but since her birthday fell on a Monday, they opted to hold her party today on Saturday in a local riverside park._

"_Okay now, time to sing her song! One, two, three…"_

"_Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday, dear Yuuki! Happy birthday, to you!" Everyone sang._

"_Now blow out your candles and make a wish!" Their mother said. Yuuki thought to herself for a moment before taking a deep breath and blowing out the candles. Everyone clapped, and Yuuki grinned even more widely. Their mother got up and began to cut the cake, but Yuuki had already gotten up and seemed about to run off._

"_Hey, where are you going? Ukitake asked her._

"_I'm gonna go play!" she said, displaying her bright eyes and innocent smile._

"_Let me come with you!" Rukia said, hopping off her chair._

"_I'm going too!" Mayuhorin said, "Come on Toushiro, you come with us!" Toushiro glanced at the tasty-looking cake longingly but sighed and nodded his head._

"_Okay, I'll go play too," he said. Several other children immediately voiced their intentions to go play too._

"_But what about cake?" their mother said, "I thought you wanted to have this nice yummy cake."_

"_I wanna play first!" Yuuki said. Their mother sighed and ruffled Yuuki's long white hair._

"_We'll never be able to get you to stay in one spot will we? Okay, you play, but make sure that you be careful. Juushiro, Miss Fawcett, would you care to watch after them?" she asked. Ukitake and Miss Fawcett, the woman who ran the daycare at which Yuuki stayed during the week, nodded and got up to watch after all the kids that were now running over to the grassy field to play with all the party games that had been set up. There were horseshoes, beach balls, water balloons, and all sorts of other fun games to play._

_Most of the kids went to play the games, but Toushiro and Mayuhorin immediately began to explore the park. They ran over to a field of tall grass with attractive wild flowers in it, catching crickets and grasshoppers as they ran through the tall grass. They soon got tired of it and went over to the bank of the river, which was running faster than normal due to recent rains. There was a small area of calm water behind a cedar tree that was half submerged in the water, its lower branches hanging in the water, slowing its flow along with a nearby sandbar. They went over and crawled through the dense brush at the bass of the tree to observe the small area of shallow water. There were a few minnows swimming in the water, no doubt enjoying the still area of water. As they stepped forward, they saw that there was a small salamander sitting on a section of fallen log, no doubt enjoying the cool shade and calm water._

"_Come on, I bet we can find some good climbing trees around here," Mayuhorin said, referring to their favorite hobby of climbing trees. They walked further along the bank, eventually coming to a hill that cut off sharply into the river, the side facing the river a steep slope of dirt. At the top of it were several tall, thin pine trees._

"_Cool…" Toushiro said, "Race you to the top?"_

"_You're on," Mayuhorin smirked. They immediately took off, running up the side of the hill. It was a tall, steep hill, but they still managed to run relatively quickly. They both reached the top at roughly the same time, but because of the momentum they did not stop and continued running until they reached the other edge of the hill, at which point they tripped over their feet and fell down the slope, rolling down straight into a blueberry patch._

"_Ouch…" Toushiro muttered, getting out. Mayuhorin crawled out from under one of the bushes, nibbling on a blueberry that had gotten caught in her hair._

"_Well at least it's not a rose bush, then we'd be covered in thorns," she said. Toushiro merely groaned in response, rubbing his side. Suddenly he stopped, his eyes brightening._

"'_Rin! Look! He said excitedly. Ahead of them was a big weeping willow with a broad base, an easily accessible trunk, and nice, climbable branches._

"_It's perfect," Rin said with a grin. They immediately ran over and leapt up into the branches, scrambling up and laughing as the climbed the tall tree. They crawled all over the place, climbing different branches and challenging themselves to climb ever higher. Just as Toushiro was about to leap from one branch to the another, two voices called out to them from below._

"_Hey Toushiro! 'Rin! We want to climb too!" Yuuki said._

"_Yeah, help us up!" Rukia shouted._

"_Sorry guys, but you're too little for tree climbing," Toushiro said, climbing down a bit so he was closer to them."_

"_But I want to!" Yuuki said stubbornly._

"_Sorry, but you have to be bigger to properly climb trees. In a few years I'll teach you," Yuuki said._

"_But I wanna do it now!"_

"_Sorry Yuuki, but you're too little for it. Go play ball with the others," Mayuhorin said. Grumbling, Yuuki and Rukia stalked off, disappearing over the crest of the nearby hill._

"_So, you wanna see who can get to that branch over there first?" Toushiro asked, climbing back up to Mayuhorin's level._

"_Just you wait and- Ewwwwww!" Mayuhorin said, "I just grabbed a branch covered in bird poo! Gross, gross, gross!"_

_She hastily climbed down, with Toushiro following her. She immediately got down next to the fast moving river, dipping her hand into it to wash it off._

"_This is so nasty," she muttered, rinsing off her hand in the rushing current._

"_I'm getting hungry, you wanna go back for cake?" Toushiro asked._

"_After I'm done washing my hands off," Mayuhorin said._

"_I'll go get you some," Toushiro said, running over in the direction of the table where the cake was located. Going around the hill, he jogged over to where the table was, relieved to see that most of the adults were sitting around chatting rather than gorging on cake. When there, he immediately grabbed two slices of cakes, placing them on paper plates and grabbing forks before going off in the direction of Mayuhorin again. He was careful to walk slowly so as not to drop the cake, carefully avoiding the running children that were playing. Unfortunately however, he tripped over a gopher hole, dropping the cake onto the ground._

_Grumbling, he was just about to return to get some more cake when he heard a sudden crack followed by a loud splash. Moments later, there was an earsplitting scream that he recognized as Rukia's. He immediately got up and ran in the direction of the scream, as were the other people. He saw Rukia running down the hill, at the top of which he saw that one of the trees had fallen down into the rushing water below. He began to wonder why Rukia was so upset over the tree falling down when suddenly his blood ran cold when he remembered Yuuki saying she wanted to climb trees._

"_Yuuki!" he screamed, running over to the edge of the river. His face went pale when he saw Yuuki's bright white hair bobbing up and down in the river, her limp body being swept away by the raging water. He froze in horror, his face pale and his body shaking. Other children were crying and calling out Yuuki's name, and several adults were already on the scene. There was another splash, and Toushiro saw that Ukitake had jumped into the water, wading into the deep, rushing current in an attempt to get Yuuki. His movements slow due to the strength of the rushing water, he made his way to the middle of the river, trying to grab Yuuki. He was too slow however, and the river too fast; his fingers only just brushed up against Yuuki's body as he tried to grab her. He tried to follow after her but the current was too strong, and made it impossible for him to catch up to her. Several other adults had also jumped in, but they had no chance of getting to Yuuki in time._

_Suddenly Toushiro remembered the area of shallow water near the cedar tree from earlier. He broke out into a run, running as fast as he could, his mind a blur. He ran alongside the river until he reached the spot. He dove through the underbrush, frantically crawling through the weeds and into the shallow area of water, getting to the edge just as Yuuki was swept past. He grabbed onto her shirt, and with all of his strength he pulled her out of the fast current and then back out of the water. He dragged himself and Yuuki out of the water and onto the bank, collapsing with Yuuki on top of him. He was unable to move, the sudden burst of panic fueled adrenaline wearing off. He could now only stare at Yuuki, her tiny body limp as she lay on top of him. Her pale skin was cold to the touch, and her pretty white hair was sopping wet and stained red with blood where she had apparently hit her head when falling in. Her lips were tinged blue, and her entire body was limp. Her half-closed eyes were dull and lifeless. Toushiro remained still, too horrified to move. He could only lay there shaking as he stared into her once bright and happy, now lifeless eyes._

_He stayed there for what felt like an eternity but in reality only a few seconds before several arms reached through the brush and pulled Yuuki off of Toushiro, pulling him up after her. He was laid onto the ground nearby, hyperventilating as he watched the others nearby try to help Yuuki. Ukitake began performing CPR while their father held their mother back as she screamed and tried to get at her child._

"_Let me go! Yuuki! My baby!" she screamed, "My baby, hang on! It's okay! It's okay! Mommy and Daddy are going save you! Yes, you'll be fine! Everything will be fine!"_

"_Juushiro's doing everything he can!" their father said to her, "You have to let him work without interference!"_

"_No, I need to hold her! Let me just hold Yuuki!" their mother screamed as Ukitake frantically tried to revive Yuuki. Everyone was gathered around, children crying and parents talking about what to do._

"_Call a hospital!"_

"_We've got to get an ambulance out here quick!"_

"_She's not breathing!"_

"_Move away; give Juushiro some space to work! If we hurry we can still save her!"_

_Mayuhorin was nearby, her hand covering her mouth as she looked on with eyes full of tears. Rukia was crying hysterically over her friend's body._

"_Yuuki! Yuuki, please wake up! Wake up Yuuki!" she cried, tears streaming down her face. Toushiro pulled himself up, his mind unable to take everything in. He felt dizzy, the screaming and crying of those around him and sight of his little sister's pale and lifeless form too much for him. He was frozen in place, only able to watch and listen in shock and horror._

"_Wake up Yuuki!" Rukia sobbed, "Don't go Yuuki, wake up! Please…wake up…wake up!"_

Toushiro woke up with a jerk. He was breathing fast, his eyes wide and his body shaking. He was covered in a cold sweat, and it was a moment before he remembered where he was. He tried to slow down his breathing as he lay there in his sleeping bags, his heart still pounding from the horrible memory. He sat up in bed, trying to steady himself. He glanced around the darkened tent, seeing that Momo and Mayuhorin were still asleep beside him.

"You awake Toushiro?" Momo said sleepily, shifting slightly.

"Y-yeah…" Toushiro said, hoping his voice sounded calm.

"Well get back to sleep, we still have a long way to go tomorrow," she said.

"Yes…yes, I'll go right back to sleep…" Toushiro said quietly, his heart rate slowing down now. He lied back down, grateful for the fact that the darkness hid his tears.

* * *

Thank you for reading. Thank you to AznVKai, Kinaia, animelover24271, Merciless Ruby, DW64, and Assault Godzilla for reviewing. Please review!


	6. Chapter 6

Mayuhorin

_Chapter Six_

Momo felt a small jab in her side. Groaning in her sleep, she shifted in her sleeping bag. She felt another small nudge against her side. Opening her eyes a crack, she rolled over onto her side, her fuzzy vision vaguely noting that it was morning. Suddenly, there was a much harder push against her side, and Momo let out a startled cry, trying to stand up but falling down thanks to the sleeping bag. She glanced around the inside of the tent, her eyes eventually settling on Toushiro, who she saw was kicking in his sleep.

"Toushiro," Momo said quietly, still rather annoyed with being woken up.

"Toushiro," she repeated in a normal voice, nudging his shoulder. He didn't react, and remained asleep.

Growling to herself, she decided to use her secret weapon. She got out of her sleeping bag and crawled over so that she was behind Toushiro's head. She leaned down and gave him a big wet kiss on the forehead. Toushiro's eyes immediately snapped open, and he found himself staring at an upside-down view of the top of Momo's head.

"Good morning Toushiro," she said sweetly.

"Arrrrgggggghhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!" he yelled, immediately sitting upright and wiping his forehead off, "Momo! Why on earth did you do that! Oh gross, my head is all covered in your spit! What the heck was that for?"

"That was for kicking me in your sleep," Momo said.

"I never-"

"Well of course you wouldn't remember it," Momo said dismissively, "Besides, it's time to get up."

"No, I'm going back to bed," Toushiro said stubbornly, lying back down and burying his head in his pillow, still wiping his face off.

"Now Toushiro, I know you're not a morning person, but it's time to get up," Momo said.

"I'm a morning person, I simply like to spend my mornings asleep."

"Fine then, I guess I'll just have to get you up by force…" Without warning, Momo suddenly jumped into Toushiro's sleeping bag.

"Momo!"

"I'm gonna get you up!"

Momo wrapped her legs around his waist from behind and began pulling his shirt off.

"Ack! Momo, what are you doing?" he yelled.

"You're gonna have to get up if you want to keep all your clothes from ending up in the lake!" Momo taunted, pulling the shirt off of Toushiro and tossing it to the side.

"Cut it out!"

"Now for the shorts!" Momo said playfully.

"No! No way!" Toushiro yelled, thrashing around in the sleeping bag. Momo laughed and wrestled with him as he tried to throw her off of him.

"Haha! Tummy-tickle!" Momo said, tickling his exposed stomach. He tried in vain to stifle the laughter, but couldn't.

"St-stop it Momo! I gi-give! I-I'll get up!" he said desperately as Momo tickled him. Momo immediately stopped, leaning down so that she was face to face with him.

"You sure?" she said with a sly smile, "You sure you're going to get up?"

"Yes! Just get off of me and give me my shirt back," Toushiro said. Momo began to wriggle out of the crowded sleeping bag, suddenly finding it difficult to move in the enclosed space.

"Momo! Get your butt out of my face!" Toushiro yelled just as Momo finally crawled out.

"Sorry, sorry!" she said with a blush, handing Toushiro his shirt when she was out. Toushiro wearily put his shirt back on and stood up.

"Hey, where's your sister?" Momo asked.

"Wha-" Toushiro looked around and realized that Mayuhorin was not in her sleeping bag. Only then did they smell a wonderful scent from outside the tent. They walked outside, practically in a trance, and found themselves looking at a small fire, in front of which Mayuhorin was sitting on a log, roasting sausages.

"Good morning," she said without turning around, "Looks like you two finally woke up."

"Um, yeah…" Toushiro said, blushing at the realization that Mayuhorin had heard everything they said in the tent.

"You're making sausages? How long have you had those?" Momo asked, suddenly feeling hungry from the scent.

"I told you before, I already packed, and you know that I come prepared!" Mayuhorin said. She turned around, revealing that she held a small metal bowl filled with sausages. She took the one she was currently roasting off the fire and put it in the bowl before offering the bowl of sausages to Momo and Toushiro, who gratefully took several sausages.

"So after we're done eating, I'm thinking we should pack up and get ready to hike to our next camping space. It's bit further than yesterday's hike, so we should get a head start," Mayuhorin said. Momo and Toushiro immediately stopped eating, remembering their still aching feet and sore backs from yesterday's long hike.

"Umm…about that…" Toushiro said hesitantly.

"We were thinking last night…this place is pretty nice, don't you think?" Momo asked, gesturing at the crystal clear lake, the beautiful forests, and the tall reeds around them, "The scenery is lovely, the weather is cool and pleasant, and pretty much everything we need is already set up right here. Why don't we just forget about the second day of hiking and stay here today? It would be a lot easier than hauling everything around for another day."

"What? But…but the hiking allows you to see all sorts of…it's the experience of hiking that…don't you think you should at least try…" Mayuhorin stuttered as she looked into Momo and Toushiro's pleading eyes. Finally she sighed and gave up. "Fine, if you really want to just stay here, then fine. But we're not just going to sit around, I want to make sure that you guy's experience everything there is to experience out here!"

"Okay, what's first?" Momo asked. Mayuhorin smiled a bit.

"Sit around the campfire and eat breakfast," she said, gesturing at two wide sections of cut log next to her that Momo and Toushiro had not even noticed.

"Where did those come from? I know that you didn't just cut those today!" Toushiro said in surprise.

"I hike a lot. These were here from last year," she explained, "Luckily they didn't rot or anything like that. I just had to dry them out around the fire to make sure they were okay to sit on. Now come on, have a seat."

"How long have you had this fire going?" Toushiro asked.

"About an hour or two. I got up early to do all the work that needed to be done," Mayuhorin explained.

"Wow, you don't mess around," Momo noted. Mayuhorin shrugged.

"I suppose so," she said.

They remained silent as they sat around the fire eating sausages. It was still quite early, and they could hear numerous birds chirping. In the distance, they heard the splash of a jumping fish. It was a lovely morning, and the warmth of the fire drove away the slight chill in the air. It seemed like the perfect place.

"So what were you planning to do today?" Mayuhorin asked.

"What?" Momo and Toushiro said at the same time.

"You said you wanted to camp out for the day instead of hiking. What do you want to do?" Mayuhorin said.

"Oh, well um…" Momo said with a slight stutter. Neither she nor Toushiro had actually thought about what they would be doing for the day. They were more concerned with not having to hike again than the specifics of what they would be doing instead.

"I suppose the first thing I would suggest is getting some firewood for the fire tonight. During the day we can relax and have fun, but we should do all the heavy stuff while it's still cool out," Mayuhorin said, "You guys go gather some nice firewood, and I'll prepare stuff for later."

"But you already have firewood!" Momo protested, pointing at the small stack of firewood next to the fire.

"That's not enough for a big fire, just enough to refuel this little one," Mayuhorin explained, "Tonight we're going to have a big roaring bonfire, and to do that we'll need the best wood we can find. Gather as many sticks and fallen logs as you can. Dried out dead wood is preferable. Just gather stuff off the ground, and if you need to, snip a few smaller branches from the trees."

"Great! I've been looking for an opportunity to try this out!" Momo pulled out a small, cherry-red swiss army knife. "Pretty cool huh? It has three different blade sizes, a little screwdriver, and even a can-opener!"

"That's nice," Mayuhorin said with an amused smile, "But if you want a real knife, I suggest something like this." She pulled a wood-handled folding knife from her pocket, proceeding to flip its blade open with a flick of her wrist. The blade was a bit longer and much sharper than Momo's small pocket knife.

"Well, I bet it doesn't have a can-opener…" Momo said moodily.

"So while we're gathering firewood, what will you be doing?" Toushiro asked quickly, hoping to defuse any potential conflict.

"Me? Oh I'll just be gathering stuff later for activities," Mayuhorin said with a small grin.

"What kind of activities?" Momo asked curiously.

"Oh, all sorts of things," Mayuhorin said with a tiny wink, "Now start gathering wood! You wouldn't want to carry a bunch of firewood in the middle of the day would you? Start now while it's still cool!"

---

"I wish your sister wouldn't boss us around so much," Momo said, using her knife to slice away a small branch before walking on.

"She's not bossing us around, she's just telling us what to do," Toushiro replied, grabbing a stick off the ground.

"In other words bossing us around," Momo said.

"Now look, I know she can seem domineering at times, but she's just trying to help. Besides, who knows what to do in these situations better than her? Can you imagine if she wasn't here? We'd be wandering around for hours with no idea what to do!" Toushiro said.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Momo laughed, "Still, it wouldn't hurt to assert yourself more. You're such a fluffy-headed little cutie that it will make you look wimpy if you let your own sister boss you around," Momo teased, ruffling his hair, "We wouldn't want people treating you like a little kid."

"Momo, you're the one who always gives others the impression that I'm a little kid," Toushiro said shortly, pushing her hand away and scowling when he realized that she had gotten bits of bark in his hair.

"That's because you look like a little kid," Momo said.

"Yeah, well so do you," Toushiro said, a slight smirk coming to his face, "In fact, you aren't growing much at all! You're getting older, shouldn't you be a bit more 'developed' by now? Orihime is only a couple years older than you and look at her! When are you going to catch up?"

"Be quiet!" Momo said covering her chest in embarrassment, "You probably haven't even hit puberty yet, you have no place talking about that kind of stuff!"

"I can make observations! Anyone with eyes can see that you have really tiny-"

"Be quiet you little brat!" Momo said, blushing brightly, "Besides, I'll bet you're not just small, I bet you're _smaaaaaall_." She dragged out the last word for emphasis and gave him a devilish wink. It was Toushiro's turn to blush now.

"Shut up about that!" he said quickly.

"Okay, I'll stop, but first you have to do me a favor," she said with a grin. She put the stack of branches she was carrying on top of those that Toushiro already had in his arms.

"Momo!" he said indignantly, struggling under the weight.

"There, that's what you get for being rude to a lady. Now take them all back to camp while I keep gathering wood," Momo said. Grumbling, Toushiro walked off in the direction of their camp, walking slowly under the weight of all the wood.

Momo sighed contentedly and looked around. She and Toushiro had been gathering firewood at the edge of the forest for a while now, but they still hadn't gathered very much. The place was lovely, with trees of several varieties surrounding them and birds and squirrels all around, but she would still like to get done quickly. Suddenly an idea hit her and a smile crossed her face. That was it! Giggling to herself, she ran off to try the idea out.

When Toushiro eventually got back, he looked around in confusion, not seeing Momo.

"Momo?" he called. There was no reply. He looked around again, making sure this was the same place. There was no mistaking the fact that this was where they were when he went back, but Momo was nowhere to be seen.

"Momo?" Toushiro called again, a bit of concern in his voice. Suddenly there was a loud crack, causing Toushiro to jump.

"Timber!" Momo's voice shouted. A short distance away, a tree came falling down, with Momo landing on her feet right beside it. Toushiro immediately ran over to her.

"Momo, what on earth are you doing?" he called.

"I found a great new way to get firewood, that's what I'm doing!" Momo called back cheerfully, going over to another thin, nearly dead tree and jumping up onto its trunk, "You see, you just climb up the side of the trunk like this-"

"Momo, stop that and get down from there," Toushiro said quietly but in a tone that made his point clear. Momo ignored him and continued.

"And then you shake the tree like this…" Momo began shifting her body to cause the tree to sway back and forth.

"I'm serious Momo, stop it," Toushiro said, his voice rising. There was suddenly a loud crack, causing Toushiro to flinch visibly, and the tree began to fall down. Momo landed on her feet just as it came down. She ran up to Toushiro, a bright smile on her face. Toushiro however was not smiling. He had a hard, cold look on his face.

"Don't be so grumpy Toushiro. It's not hard. See, I'll do it again!" Momo ran over to another tree, this one a pine that was a bit bigger.

"Momo don't!" Toushiro yelled at her, but she jumped up and climbed several feet up the tree and began making its way back and forth.

"Momo stop that right now!" Toushiro yelled at her, running up to the tree and jumping up to grab at her.

"Toushiro, what are you-Waaaah!" he pulled her down just as the tree began to fall over. They both fell to the ground. Momo got up first, rubbing her side and groaning.

"Why did you do that Toushiro? Why-"

"Momo," Toushiro said in a deathly cold voice, "Never do that in front of me again." Momo was shocked. Toushiro wasn't yelling anymore, but the unusually cold and angry tone in his voice shocked her.

"Toushiro…" she began, but he had already turned and had begun to walk away. She was planning to go after him but a hand touched her shoulder.

"Why don't you go back to camp," Mayuhorin said.

"How did you-"

"I heard everything," Mayuhorin said, "You should go back to camp now. I'll talk to Toushiro and help gather the firewood. There are some willow branches that I gathered that need to have the bark removed from them; that would be a great job for you." Momo nodded slowly, turning back towards camp, a few tears rolling down her cheeks.

---

Momo sat on a log, removing the bark from the willow branches Mayuhorin had cut. The wood was soft so it was easy enough to do with just her pocket knife, but there were lots of branches and thus it took a long time to do. As she worked, she wondered what was wrong with Toushiro early. He almost never had outbursts like that, and certainly not against her. They were best friends, and had never gotten that angry at eachother before. She felt horrible, though she didn't know why. She still didn't understand what it was that made Toushiro so angry at her, but that didn't stop her from feeling bad about it.

Sighing, she looked up into the sky at the sun, the position of which indicated that it was about an hour or two before noon. She hadn't realized how long she had been working, so she decided to take a break. Folding and setting down the knife, she wiped her forehead stretched her arms. She glanced over at the tent and saw a small map on top of one of Mayuhorin's bags that was sitting outside. She walked over and picked it up, unfolding it and looking it over.

The map showed the area in great detail, showing the lake, the area around the lake, the forest, and the changes in elevation. She managed to pinpoint the spot where they were camped out, right in front of a small gap in the lakeside reeds. To her surprise, she saw that nearby the place they were camping was a small spring. She walked over behind the tent, looking in the direction of the spring but not seeing it. According to the map, it was only a short distance away, yet it was not visible. She could see the rising elevation that the spring was supposed to be near, but not the spring itself.

Momo began walking towards where the map indicated the spring was. She rationalized that it must be behind the trees. She continued walking, and found herself pushing through brush that surrounded this portion of the lake. The clear area of gravel and flat earth that they set up their tent on was behind her now, as she walked further from the tent. She began climbing a small tree covered hill that seemed to be at the base of the larger shift in elevation to the North. Despite the short distance, the trees became thick quickly, and Momo noticed that the ground was becoming rockier. When she reached the top of the hill, she gasped.

A small, bowl-like depression was hidden behind the hill, a steep ledge a few feet from the gentle sloping side of the hill that Momo had climbed up. At the bottom of the depression, there was the spring she had seen before. Water was seeping from cracks in the wall of stone behind the spring. She saw that there was a sort of plateau surrounding the depression, behind which was a much taller hill that went on as far as Momo could see. The entire place was surrounded by trees and bushes, hiding it from sight.

Carefully going down the edge of the depression, she walked over to the edge of the spring. It was a decent sized spring, about thirty or forty feet across, and the water was crystal clear. Momo suddenly realized how warm it was getting, and found the crystal clear water to be quite appealing. Glancing over her shoulder to make sure she was alone, she began to remove her clothes. After she had stripped down to her undergarments, she paused before removing the final articles of clothing with a slight blush. She knew she was alone, but it was still embarrassing to be naked outside like this. Nevertheless, the fresh air felt nice on her exposed skin, and she slowly entered the spring.

It was quite chilly and a bit deeper than she'd expected, but she found it to be nice. Sighing in relaxation, she began swimming back and forth around the spring. The water felt very refreshing, and the fact that she wasn't wearing anything made it a bit exciting to be swimming around like this. Momo could not help but feel a little naughty over the fact that she was swimming around naked. It was nice though, and she enjoyed the feeling of the cold water on her skin. She dove underwater towards the bottom, settling on smooth stone bottom, enjoying the feeling of her stomach and chest resting against it. When she had nearly run out of breath, she used her legs to push herself up and launch herself up to the surface, coming down with a splash.

Momo ran a hand through her sopping wet hair, which was quite messed up. She pushed the hair dangling over her face back, taking a deep breath of air. She flipped herself over, floating on her back and sighing contentedly. She closed her eyes in relaxation, stretching her limbs as she peacefully floated on her back.

It was a nice feeling, just floating there enjoying the water. It cleared her mind of concern, and made her feel a bit better about the earlier incident with Toushiro. She still didn't understand what she had done to upset him, and was still a bit hurt from it. She wished he were here right now…

"Momo!" Toushiro's voice called. Momo squeaked in surprise, quickly going back underwater and covering herself up with her arms. When she had wished to herself that Toushiro were there, she had forgotten that she was completely naked. She swam over to the edge, hoping that she was covered up enough that Toushiro wouldn't see too much of her.

"Y-Yes?" she called back nervously. She saw some rustling in the bushes above as Toushiro walked out. She retreated further underwater in embarrassment.

"Are you okay? When we got back to camp you weren't there and he worried," he called down to her.

"Oh yes, I'm fine! Just taking a swim!" Momo said with a nervous giggle, "I hope you don't want to join me!"

"No, I don't swim in places like this," Toushiro said.

"Really? That's interesting, I guess I never noticed since we've never been swimming anywhere but in a pool," Momo said anxiously, hoping that he would leave and spare her great embarrassment.

"Yeah, I guess so. I'm surprised though, I didn't realize that you brought your swimming suit with you," he said.

"Um…I didn't…" Momo said awkwardly.

"What? You meant….Are you saying…"

"Yeah, I'm not really wearing anything right now," Momo said with a nervous laugh, "Aren't you glad you didn't want to go swimming now?"

"I'm…going back to camp…" Toushiro said, covering his eyes with his hand.

"Wait a minute," Mayuhorin suddenly said, appearing next to Toushiro, "I'd love to go for a swim!"

"Ugh, I'm getting out of here…" Toushiro muttered to himself, walking away, his eyes still covered. Shrugging, Mayuhorin began removing her clothes.

"No wait, I was just about to get out anyways and I'm sure we have lots of stuff to do and-" Before Momo could finish, Mayuhorin jumped in, surfacing a few moments later, her normally spiky hairs now hanging over the sides of her head like a mop.

"So Momo, have you been enjoying the spring? I always love relaxing in this spot!" Mayuhorin said.

"Um, yeah…" Momo said, still covering herself up again and blushing quite a bit.

"Oh don't worry, we're both girls, there's nothing to be embarrassed about" Mayuhorin said, swimming over to her.

"I suppose…" Momo said, still looking in the other direction.

"Toushiro talks about you a lot," she said, "You seem to be a really good friend to him."

"Yeah, but you connect with him better. I always feel like I'm not good enough for him and don't understand him as well as I think I do. Earlier for example; despite all the time we've spent together, I still have no idea what made him so mad," Momo said.

"Yeah, well there are things Toushiro doesn't like to talk about," Mayuhorin explained.

"Like what? Do you know what it was that was wrong with Toushiro earlier? What set him off like that?" Momo asked. Mayuhorin remained silent for several moments before finally speaking.

"There are some things I'd prefer not to talk about either."

---

"So, what do you think she's doing? She's been gone for a while."

"I don't know…"

Momo and Toushiro were lying down on the grass near the forest edge. Mayuhorin had left several hours earlier without explaining where she was going and had yet to return. It was getting late in the afternoon, and while they were certainly enjoying just lying around, they were getting anxious for her to return.

"She could have at least told us what to do while she was gone," Momo grumbled.

"Well, she did say that she had a surprise," Toushiro said, "Maybe there's a reason for it."

"You guys talking about me?" they heard Mayuhorin say. They were about to turn, but she spoke again before they could. "No don't turn around! I have a surprise for you! First, close your eyes…" Both Momo and Toushiro complied, closing their eyes. "And stand up..." They both stood up. "Now open your eyes."

Momo and Toushiro opened their eyes to find a massive ugly grey face staring at them from inches away.

"AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!" They both screamed, falling backwards and trying to run away even as they lay on the ground. Mayuhorin burst into laughter. Breathing fast, Momo and Toushiro looked back up, and saw that Mayuhorin was holding a massive catfish.

"How…how on earth did you catch that thing?" Toushiro asked, pointing a shaking finger at the fish that was nearly as big as he was.

"Noodling," Mayuhorin said simply.

"Noodling?" Momo repeated.

"Noodling," Mayuhorin repeated, "Okay, now let's fry this up! Start building up the fire and I'll start making the cooking rack.

"Cooking rack?" Toushiro asked.

"Yeah, that's what those willow branches were for. Now hurry up and stack up some logs so that I can build it. This thing is heavy! I'm not sure how much longer I can hold it."

Momo and Toushiro both immediately began piling the firewood gathered earlier into a pile. The fire would be much bigger than the one earlier. Soon, they had stacked the firewood in the proper form, making Mayuhorin nod in satisfaction.

"Good, now hold this while I set up the rack," she said.

"Wait, wha-" Toushiro was cut off when Mayuhorin put the huge catfish in his arms. He staggered and nearly fell down when Momo ran over and grabbed the fish, helping Toushiro hold it. It was extremely heavy, and the unpleasant scale-less skin of the fish didn't make it easier to hold. Its big, googly eyes and ugly face bothered both of them greatly, and they didn't want to hold the thing any longer than they had to.

"Hurry up 'Rin…" Toushiro said through his teeth.

"Okay, almost there, aaaaaaand done!" Mayuhorin said, walking over and grabbing the catfish easily from them. Momo and Toushiro panted, exhausted from the effort of holding the huge fish. They couldn't believe that Mayuhorin could lift it so easily. They saw that Mayuhorin had already set up a sturdy rack, on which she had already placed the fish.

"How did you set that thing up so quickly? How can something you just throw together like that support that monster?" Toushiro asked.

"Years of practice," Mayuhorin explained, flipping her knife open and beginning to clean the fish. Momo and Toushiro looked away as she cut up the fish. They saw out of the corner of their eyes Mayuhorin dropping fish guts into the center of the fire. They heard a drop and saw that she had by now cut the head off. After several more minutes of cleaning, they heard a ripping noise.

"There! All done!" she said, tossing the fish's skin to the side. They looked and saw that she had finished, leaving a fish fillet on the wooden rack.

"Perfect, now just the crumbs and spices," Mayuhorin said. She took a plastic bag out of her pocket that was filled with a mix of bread crumbs and spices, sprinkling the mix over the catfish meat.

"And now…" she pulled out a match and lit the small twigs at the base. The fire started small, then slowly began to get bigger and bigger. Soon they had a roaring fire in front of them.

"Finally…" Momo said, sitting down on one of the logs, "I was beginning to get hungry."

"Thanks for going to all this trouble 'Rin," Toushiro said.

"No problem. There's nothing but relaxation left for the night. Just sit back, relax, and watch the fire."

They did just that, watching as the catfish cooked and breathing in the delicious scent. When the fish was cooked, they all ate hungrily, quickly finishing it. After that, they remained silent for the rest of the evening, basking in the heat of the fire. The bonfire burned well into the night, and when they finally prepared to go to sleep, it had been reduced to a pile of embers. Mayuhorin and Toushiro went into the tent to go to sleep, but Momo ran over to the lakeside with a small bowl to get some water, which she poured onto the fire to put it out completely. Going back to the tent, she was somewhat dismayed to find that Mayuhorin had fallen asleep in her spot next to Toushiro. Sighing, she set her sleeping bag next to Mayuhorin, snuggling up under the covers.

"Goodnight Momo," Toushiro said sleepily from the other side of the tent.

"Good night, Toushiro."

* * *

Thanks for reading! Thank you to AznVKai, Merciless Ruby, SunsetRainbow, DW64, Assault Godzilla, and animelover24271 for reviewing! Please review!


	7. Chapter 7

Mayuhorin

_Chapter 7_

"Mmm…" Momo murmured in her sleep, "Nnnn…no, I'm not hungry. Go away."

"Momo?"

"Uhhh…no, stay back…"

"Momo!"

Momo opened her eyes to see Toushiro standing over her. She looked around and remembered where she was and what had happened last night.

"_Oh god I'm so glad we're finally home!" Momo groaned, tossing her backpack onto the floor and stumbling over to the couch. They had just gotten back to the house after hiking back all day. It was evening, but not particularly late, though this didn't matter to the exhausted Momo and Toushiro._

"_Momo, we should put these things away first!"Mayuhorin said, "Toushiro, tell her that we're going to put our things away before resting."_

"_Later. Sleep first," Toushiro mumbled, walking slowly towards the stairs to his room. Meanwhile, Momo had collapsed onto the couch, landing on her stomach._

"_Momo, get up. Toushiro, get back here, we need to put this stuff away," Mayuhorin said. She was ignored however. Momo had already fallen asleep, her right arm and leg hanging over the side of the couch, and Toushiro continued to slowly walk towards his room in a zombie-like state."_

"Wow, that was a weird dream!" Momo exclaimed, rubbing her head, "I dreamed I was being attacked by flying plums!"

"Yeah, that's great," Toushiro said, "We're going into town to get ice cream, would you like to come with us?"

"Are you nuts? I can't go anywhere like this! I'm all dirty and sweaty from hiking yesterday! I've gotta take a shower first!" Momo exclaimed, standing up sleepily and slowly making her way towards the shower in a manner that suggested that she was not entirely awake yet. "I'll just get some new clothes and shower and get all freshened up first."

Toushiro rolled his eyes as she wandered off.

---

Humming quietly to herself, Momo walked into the bathroom. She was still pretty tired, and her feet ached from all the hiking they did yesterday. Setting her towel and clothes aside, she reached for the knob to the shower but stopped after taking a good look at the bathtub, deciding she'd rather have a bath instead. Turning the other knob, hot water began pouring into the bath tub.

As the tub filled up, she stripped off her clothes and let down her hair, which was still in its regular bun when she had fallen asleep the previous night. Soon, the tub was full of hot steamy water and after turning the water off, she slowly stepped into the water.

The warmth of the water felt simply exquisite, and she slowly eased herself into the tub, leaning back against the end of the tub and sinking herself in down to her neck. She sighed contentedly, wiggling her toes underwater as she felt the hot water relieve the soreness of her feet. She splashed some water over her face and hair, washing away all of the dirt and grime accumulated during the camping trip. She reached over and picked up a bottle of shampoo, putting a bit in his hands. Humming to herself, she lathered it up and put it in her hair. She ran her hands through her hair, washing it thoroughly with the shampoo. When she was done, she took a deep breath and dunked her head beneath the water. Bringing her head up, she wiped away a bit of the water from her face before settling back against the back of the tub again.

She reflected on the past few days. Overall it was very fun. She'd never been out on a camping trip like that before, and it was a pretty enjoyable experience. She was glad to be back in civilization with all of its luxuries, particularly that of a hot bath. The trip had been a great experience, and it was nice to spend time with Mayuhorin. She was sure that Toushiro enjoyed spending time with his sister again too. Momo thought about how much time they spent together. She knew they were very close siblings after seeing them together so much. It must have been hard for them to have been apart for so long.

After soaking in the tub until her skin was bright red from the hot water, Momo decided it was time to get out. After stepping out, she drained the water from the tub and grabbed a towel, drying herself off with it. She put on a shirt and some shorts and walked back out.

"Toushiro! I'm done now!" she called, combing her hair and preparing to put it in its usual bun. After several seconds passed with no answer, she called again.

"Toushiro! Mayuhorin! I'm all clean, so we can go get ice-cream now, okay?" she yelled. Again, there was no response. Momo was now rather confused. Where the heck was he? He had to have heard her calls. Hurriedly putting her hair in a bun and wrapping the usual cloth around it, she ran out to the living room. Neither Toushiro nor Mayuhorin were there. Walking over to the dining room, Momo scratched her head in confusion.

"They went out." Momo jumped in surprise. She immediately recognized the voice as Orihime's. Momo looked around quickly, not seeing Orihime anywhere.

"Orihime? Where are you?" Momo said.

"Down here silly!" Orihime said. Momo looked down and saw that Orihime was lying down under the dining table.

"What are you doing down there? How long have you been here?" Momo asked in surprise.

"I was here the whole time!" Orihime said happily, "I fell asleep under here the other day and liked it so much I decided to stay!"

"But what about Toushiro and Mayuhorin?" Momo asked.

"They went out for ice-cream," Orihime said.

"What? But-but they were supposed to wait for me…" Momo said, surprised and a little hurt.

"Did you tell them that you wanted to go?" Orihime asked.

"Yes! I mean, I didn't explicitly say 'I want to go' but I told them to wait for me to take a shower first and I thought I had implied that I wanted to go," Momo said quickly, hastily recalling exactly what she had said.

"But didn't you take a bath? I heard you drain the water while you were in there, not to mention you were there for forty-five minutes, which is too long for a shower," Orihime said.

"Forty-five minutes?! Oh man, no wonder they left without me…" Momo said, smacking her head, "Well, I suppose I could run after them. I might be able to get some ice cream to eat with them if I hurry."

"I have a better alternative!" Orihime said brightly, "I took that bucket of ice-cream that you gave me and melted it and mixed it with nacho cheese and mustard! Then I froze it again so it will be an all new ice-cream flavor! I'll just go get it and we can- Hey, where are you going?"

---

Momo ran out of the house as fast as she could, not wanting to be victim to Orihime's hideous culinary concoctions. Once she was safely away she slowed her pace to a brisk walk. She figured that if she went into town she'd be able to find the ice-cream place on her own. Toushiro liked to eat lots of ice-cream, so she had a chance of joining him before he finished.

She wasn't sure of the time, but it was probably nearly noon by now. Her feet were still rather sore from the long hike, but after soaking in the hot bath for so long it was much more bearable than before. Walking on the side of the road, she watched as squirrels and chipmunks scampered away. As she was walking, she saw someone she recognized. On the side of the road, walking with her bike, was Rukia. Momo ran up and waved to her.

"Hey Rukia!" she called. Rukia jumped, dropping her bike in surprise. Momo ran over to her side. Rukia was much shorter than her, and even shorter than Toushiro, so she leaned down a little when she talked.

"Remember me? I'm Momo, I was in the car when Orihime drove you home the other day. Did your bike break again?" she said.

"Hi Momo…" Rukia said nervously, "Yes, my bike stopped working while I was riding it. The wheel in the back keeps jamming."

"Do you want me to help you with it?" Momo offered. Rukia backed away a little bit, seemingly unsure of what to do. "It's okay," Momo said, "I just want to help you out. I can help you get it to your home a lot easier." After a moment, Rukia nodded. Smiling, Momo took the bike and began rolling it alongside them as they walked. It quickly became apparent what Rukia was talking about. Every few seconds the wheel would jam, making it not only impossible to ride, but difficult to wheel around. Momo ended up picking it up to carry rather than rolling it. They walked silently to Rukia's house, pulling the bike up to the driveway.

"Are your parents home?" Momo asked. Rukia shook her head. "Well then how would you like for me to see if I can fix this for you?"

"Can you do that? I've tried but nothing I do works," Rukia said.

"I've done a bit of work with bicycles myself. Do you have some pliers and a screwdriver I could use?" Momo asked. Nodding, Rukia ran over to the garage side door. Moments later, the garage door opened, revealing an entire side that was full of tools.

"That should do," Momo said with a smile. She took the bike over to the garage and propped it up. After retrieving a few basic tools from the workbench inside the garage, she bent down and began inspecting the bike.

"Okay, it's been a while since I've done something like this, so I'll start out checking the basics," she explained to Rukia, "Okay now, the front wheel seems fine, and it looks like the frame is stable. Spokes are all in place…Oh! Look at this, the brakes are…no wait, they're fine. This is a different type of brake than I thought it was. Never mind! Okay, back to the bike. I guess I don't need to worry about the bowden cable, which means this part here should be working fine. Okay, hold it up for a moment so I can peddle it and see what the problem is. Okay, I think I've got it! There's something up with the chain! Yes, that must be it! Oh man, I should have tried that in the first place! Okay let's check the links…yes…yes that's it! Here's the problem! There's a pebble jammed between two of the links and there's dirt in a few others! That's it! I've just got to get it out!" Momo took a thin screwdriver and gently began working at dislodging the pebble. It was so tiny that it was barely visible, but she had no doubt that this was the culprit behind the bike's problems. It was jammed in tightly, but slowly she was able to nudge it out of place, always careful not to damage the chain. Finally, it was out. Momo grabbed a rag off the counter and ran over to a neighboring house with a sprinkler system, getting the rag wet and jumping out of the way to avoid getting sprayed herself. Running back, she wiped off the chain, cleaning it of dirt. After testing the peddles, chain, and brakes several times, she was convinced that the problem was solved and the bike was now usable.

"Done!" she said brightly, "Go ahead Rukia, try it out!"

Rukia nervously got onto the bike and began slowly peddling. The bike glided away smoothly, no longer afflicted with jamming like before. Rukia picked up speed and began riding in circles around the driveway. Pulling back up, she went over to Momo with the first smile Momo had seen from her. She immediately got off the bike and gave Momo a big hug.

"Thank you…" she said quietly.

"It was no problem," Momo said, patting her on the head, "Where were you going earlier anyways?"

"Nowhere," Rukia said.

"What do you mean? Weren't you going into town or to a friend's house or something?" Momo asked.

"No, I was just riding my bike," Rukia said, "It's what I like to do."

"Okay, if you say so," Momo said, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get going." Momo turned to leave but Rukia grabbed onto her.

"No! Don't go yet!" she said, suddenly teary eyed, "I wanted to spend more time with you! You're the first person to do something like this for me in a long time! Don't go yet!"

"But I was going to go out to have ice-cream with Toushiro and Mayuhorin…" Momo said.

"No! I don't want you to go!" Rukia said.

"Look, I have to go now. I'll come back to spend time with you some other day, but right now I really need to go. I'm probably not going to make it in time to have ice-cream with them as it is, I can't wait any longer. I'm sorry, but you must have friends your own age you can play with, right?"

"No," Rukia said. Momo paused for a moment and looked at Rukia.

"What do you mean?" she asked, "You must have at least _some_ friends."

"No," Rukia said, "I haven't had a friend in a long time."

"No friends at all? That can't be, you must have _someone_. You probably just don't realize it. Just think of somebody you care about and who makes you happy; somebody who you like to play with and who you can talk to when you're sad. Don't you have anyone like that?" Momo asked.

Rukia remained quiet for a moment before suddenly perking up.

"Yes, I do have someone like that!" she said. She grabbed Momo's hand and dragged her into the house. It was a decent-sized house, though not nearly as big as Mayuhorin's house. Rukia lead her through the house until they were outside what Momo assumed was her room.

"Just wait a moment!" Rukia said, running off into her room. She emerged moments later, holding a big, snowy white rabbit.

"Well, I guess that's one type of friend," Momo said with a slight chuckle. "What's its name?"

"Her name is Yuuki," Rukia said. Momo's smile faltered. Yuuki? She named the rabbit after Toushiro and Mayuhorin's little sister? She suddenly recalled what Toushiro and Mayuhorin had told her earlier, about how Rukia was Yuuki's best friend and how she had witnessed Yuuki's death and had been traumatized by it.

"Rukia…I probably wouldn't make it to see Toushiro in time anyways, so I'll stay here for a while…"

---

Momo walked back towards the house. She had spent the past several hours with Rukia, playing card games and talking to her. She suspected that Rukia had not simply played and had fun with another person in years. Momo felt bad for Rukia. It was apparent that she had been hit by Yuuki's death every bit as hard as Toushiro and Mayuhorin. The way she talked to that rabbit made it seem as if even now she still was struggling with the trauma.

Momo shifted her thoughts to Toushiro and Mayuhorin. She could not imagine what it must have felt like for them to lose their little sister. The few times that she had heard Toushiro speak of her, he always seemed on the brink of tears, which was very unusual given his mature and sometimes cold personality. Being separated from his twin sister must have been hard on him too. They were clearly very close, as evidenced by the support they seemed to give eachother. She recalled how for the first year or two after moving to his new home Toushiro almost never was able to interact with others, and it wasn't until she and him had become friends that he seemed to be able to truly be happy again.

Now that she thought of it, she had taken up a similar role to Mayuhorin in Toushiro's life. They both supported eachother and confided everything with eachother. That seemed to be akin to the relationship he shared with Mayuhorin. As she thought of this, she couldn't help but wonder what role she would play in Toushiro's life now that Mayuhorin was back in it. There was a slight bit of worry in the back of her mind. Of course they'd still be friends, but would they be as close as they once were? Part of what made them so close was the fact that the bond between them was so close that it was as if they were in their own separate world. Now that Mayuhorin was part of that world, would she and Toushiro still be as close as they once were? She didn't want Toushiro to let go of her even a little. She knew he cared about Mayuhorin, but hoped beyond hope that she wouldn't be eclipsed by her in Toushiro's heart.

Momo felt horrible for such thoughts. She knew she was just being jealous and selfish, wanting Toushiro all for herself. She felt very guilty that she would want Toushiro to consider her more important than his sister, but she could not deny the feelings of jealousy. For as long as she had known him, it had always been just the two of them. Now there was another person, and Momo didn't know what to do. It had always been just them who spent time together and played. It had always been just them who were able to share their feelings with and talk openly and honestly with eachother without hiding anything. Well, almost anything. She thought about what Mayuhorin had said yesterday, about there being some things that Toushiro did not talk about. What did she mean? Was Toushiro hiding things from her? Did Mayuhorin know Toushiro better than she did? This only made Momo feel worse. She had always been the most important person in Toushiro's life, and he the most important in her's. They devoted all of their feelings and actions to eachother, but now Momo had to learn to share Toushiro with Mayuhorin.

Momo could not help but feel scared. She was scared that her role in Toushiro's life would be diminished and that she would be replaced in his heart. She recalled how during the camping trip Mayuhorin and Toushiro were almost always so close, and how they would sometimes walk off without her. She thought about how Toushiro had gotten mad at her and collected firewood with Mayuhorin instead of her. She knew she was just being petty and jealous, and that Mayuhorin was not doing anything wrong, just spending time with her twin brother, but Momo still could not stop feeling jealous and worried. She shook away such thoughts. They would do her no good right now. After several more minutes of walking, she finally arrived at the house and walked in through the side door. She knew that Toushiro was probably worried sick about her. He always worried about her when she was away longer than he expected.

"I'm home!" she called.

"Good, you're back!" she heard Toushiro call back. Momo brightened up a bit at the sound of his voice and ran over to the living room where she heard him from. Her heart sank a little when she saw that he was sitting at a folding table with Mayuhorin in the corner of the living room. Toushiro was in a big reclining chair and Mayuhorin was in a chair from the dining room. In front of them was a puzzle, which they were already half done with.

"So, what have you been doing over the afternoon?" Toushiro asked.

"Oh, nothing much. I spent some time at Rukia's house doing stuff with her," Momo said.

"Is that so? I've never known Rukia to invite someone she doesn't know very well over like that, she's always been too shy to do anything like that," Mayuhorin said, "She must like you."

"Yeah, I guess so," Momo said, "So tell me, what did you guys get for ice-cream earlier?" Momo said, a slightly bitter tone in her voice due to their having left without her. Evidently they did not notice, because they promptly answered with no apparent guilt.

"I got a hot fudge sundae," Mayuhorin answered.

"I had a banana split," Toushiro said.

"That sounds delicious," Momo said, "You should have waited for me to get out of the bath, I would have loved to go out for something like that."

"Well, I wanted to wait another five minutes for you, but Toushiro said that you'd take forever to get out and that we'd might as well go on our own," Mayuhorin explained.

"Sorry about that Momo," Toushiro said, "We weren't sure if you wanted to go, you were kind of vague about it and we figured that if you were taking so long you didn't care if we went off without you. Sorry about that."

"Oh, no problem, no problem," Momo said with a fake smile, "So, you're working on a puzzle I see. Mind if I join you?"

"Sure. I was just about to go make dinner, so you can have my spot," Toushiro said, pulling back the chair and getting out, offering it to Momo.

"What? But I wanted…with you…" Momo stuttered incoherently.

"Don't worry, it's no big deal," Toushiro explained, "I was just about to go make dinner anyways. We wouldn't want to have to eat Orihime's cooking now would we?" Mayuhorin and Toushiro laughed, and Momo gave a forced chuckle. Toushiro walked over to the kitchen, and Momo glumly sat down in the chair.

"Okay Momo, we were focusing on this building right here," Mayuhorin said, pointing to the puzzle, "After that we- Hey, are you listening?"

"Oh! I mean yes, I'm listening," Momo said, snapping out of a daze as she stared at Toushiro, "I understand, go ahead and explain away!"

Momo wasn't really paying attention though. The sound of Mayuhorin explaining what they were doing with the puzzle was nothing but a background noise as Momo stared at Toushiro as he walked away.

* * *

Thanks for reading! Thank you to Ammy14K, AznVKai, DW64, sma4ever, animelover24271, Merciless Ruby, Sunset Rainbow, and Assault Godzilla for reviewing! Please review!


	8. Chapter 8

Mayuhorin

_Chapter 8_

"Hey Toushiro! Wake up!" Momo said, nudging Toushiro's shoulder as he slept.

"Urgh…leave me alone..." he muttered, pulling a blanket over his head. Momo pulled the blanket back.

"Come on, I really wanted to spend time with you today," she said, "Yesterday you were with Mayuhorin the whole day! It's my turn!"

"Go away," he grunted. Momo frowned at him.

"Toushiro, if you don't wake up, I'm going to have to make you…" she said deviously. Toushiro merely grunted in annoyance. Momo sighed. "Fine then. Huggles!"

Momo leapt onto Toushiro, giving him a big bear hug.

"Argh! No huggles! No huggles!" Toushiro groaned.

"Not until you get up! It's our day together, and I want to have as much time as possible!" Momo said, continuing to give him a huge hug while nuzzling him.

"Okay, okay, I'll get up!" Toushiro groaned, groggily getting up. Momo smiled and pulled him up by the arm, dragging him over to the door.

As soon as she walked through the door however, Toushiro slammed it behind her. The click of the lock came from the other side. Momo turned and banged on his door angrily.

"Toushiro you little brat! Let me in! It's our special day together!" she yelled, shaking the locked door knob.

"I'm sleeping in today!" Toushiro called back from inside.

"Toushiro! Open this door right now!" Momo yelled, pounding on the door. Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Mayuhorin standing behind her.

"I think I have an idea on how to wake him up," she said with a small wink.

---

Toushiro was just getting asleep again when he heard his door knob rattling, followed by a click. He cracked an eye open, and saw that Momo and Mayuhorin had walked in, both wearing bathrobes.

"What do you want now?" he grumbled, "I already told you that I wanted to sleep in."

"Oh, we just wanted to show you our new hairstyles!" Mayuhorin said.

"What?" Toushiro said sleepily. Focusing on them, he realized that Momo and Mayuhorin had effectively swapped hairstyles. Momo had several beaded braids of hair on the side of her head like Mayuhorin's, and Mayuhorin had her spiky white hair awkwardly pulled into a bun like Momo's.

"So Toushiro, what do you think? Which of us looks better with these hairstyles?" Momo asked Toushiro. He looked at them for a moment, his face displaying clear irritation.

"Momo's. Now go away," he said.

"Wait, there's still one more thing we wanted you to judge us on," Mayuhorin said. Momo and Mayuhorin pulled off their bathrobes, revealing that they were wearing rather revealing swimming suits. Momo was wearing a salmon pink one with cute blue flower designs on it, while Mayuhorin was wearing one with various shades of blue arranged in a spiky pattern.

"So Toushiro, which one of us looks better?" Momo asked. Toushiro's gaze lingered on them for just a moment before slapping himself in the forehead and turning over in bed so that he was facing away from them. Mayuhorin turned to Momo.

"Well I think that both of us look lovely in these, but since I'm way hotter, I definitely look better," she said.

"What? No way, I'm just as attractive as you!" Momo said, "Look at me, nice elegant legs, a smooth stomach, glowingly perfect skin…the ideal female physique! You should have seen the way Toushiro was looking at me back at the hotel when we came here! Oh man, you could tell he was trying not to, but he definitely saw some stuff he liked!"

"Bah! If I weren't his sister he'd be looking the same way at me! Wouldn't you Toushiro?" she asked, receiving only a growl in return as Toushiro buried his head into the blankets. Mayuhorin continued, "I have a nice athletic physique. No offense Momo, but your stomach muscles could use a little bit of exercise." She gave Momo a little poke in the tummy, causing her to giggle.

"Guys don't want a girl to have a stomach like a weightlifter! They want a nice, attractively fit but not muscle-bound girl," Momo retorted.

"Yeah but there is something that I have which you don't," Mayuhorin said, "A nice full chest!"

"Hey, mine will grow out!" Momo said defensively, "Besides, yours aren't even that big; they just look that way because you're shorter!"

"They'll be Orihime-sized soon enough. Besides, they're still bigger than yours."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Prove it!"

"Very well then, we'll just press them up against eachother like this-"

"Aaaaaarrrrgggghhhh! I do NOT need to be hearing this!" Toushiro yelled, instantly getting up and storming out of the room. Momo and Mayuhorin were silent for a moment before bursting into laughter.

"You were right, that worked perfectly!" Momo said, clutching her sides in laughter.

"Yeah, I always used to do that to him as a kid!" Mayuhorin said, "The poor guy, having to deal with the trauma of seeing his sister and best friend in skimpy swimming suits! He'll probably have therapy for this stuff some day."

"Yeah, it's always fun mess with him like that," Momo laughed, "Now let's get out of this embarrassing stuff so we don't have to keep up the act."

"Okay, but for the record mine really are bigger…"

---

Momo walked into the living room where Toushiro was sitting on the couch, staring into space. She had a bag strapped to her back, ready to go have their day in town together

"Hi Toushiro!" she said brightly.

"Hi Momo…" he said unenthusiastically.

"What's with the bitter tone? Aren't you happy that we're going to spend some time together?" Momo asked.

"Sure, but I'd have been happier if you'd let me sleep in first. A boy who doesn't sleep doesn't grow," he said.

"That doesn't apply if you're a shorty to begin with," Momo said, ruffling his hair a little, causing him to scowl, "Now come on, I wanted to go into town!" Momo grabbed Toushiro's arm and led him to the door, with him dragging his feet the whole time.

When they were outside, Toushiro stopped resisting and walked quietly alongside Momo in the cool morning air.

"Why are you always so stubborn like that Toushiro? Don't you like hanging out with me?" Momo asked.

"Of course I do," Toushiro said.

"Then why do you always act so grumpy and reluctant around me?" Momo asked again, leaving the hidden 'and not around Mayuhorin' unsaid.

"I don't know, that's just how I am," Toushiro said. Momo nodded in understanding. She still felt a little bit put off, but she knew that Toushiro didn't mean anything by it. He was always like that, it was part of what made Momo like him so much, but now that she saw him acting more normally around Mayuhorin, she felt a little bit sad about it. To her, Toushiro would only give a few smiles at times when they were most happy, and Momo treasured every one of them. With Mayuhorin however, Toushiro smiled a lot more. He was still a bit cold and grumpy, but he acted a lot more normal around her. This made Momo sad. Did Toushiro care about Mayuhorin more than he did about her?

"Momo?" Toushiro said, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Yes? What is it?" she asked, blushing as she came to her senses.

"Nothing, I was just wondering if you planned on continuing walking straight for that mud puddle," Toushiro said.

"What? Oh!" Momo immediately stopped as she saw a big mud puddle right in front of her. "Thanks for the heads up!" She blushed as she hastily walked around the puddle.

"Something on your mind?" Toushiro asked.

"No, nothing really," Momo said nonchalantly.

"You sure?" Toushiro asked again.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Momo said with a somewhat unconvincing smile, "I'm just feeling a little tired."

"Then you shouldn't have woken up so early dummy," he said, rolling his eyes. Momo smiled. That was what she loved about Toushiro. He always had his way of expressing his feelings for others in the most blunt and rude way possible. To others, it may have been off-putting, but to Momo, who had long ago learned how to decipher his rude and cold statements, it was endearing. She still felt a little sad that he talked to Mayuhorin more normally, but now that she thought of it, she was glad Toushiro was this way. He constantly had an icy shell around him, and she had the privilege of being allowed through it.

"Momo!" a happy voice said. Momo turned around to see Rukia riding her bike towards them. She circled around a few times before stopping, getting off to give Momo a big hug.

"Hi Rukia," Momo said, "It looks like your bike is working fine." Rukia smiled.

"Yup, thanks to you!" she said happily, "Did you want to play with me again? I had fun yesterday and wanted to play again!"

"Sorry, but I have other plans today," Momo said, "I'll play with you some other time."

"But…but I wanted to play with you…" Rukia said.

"Well I'm sorry, but you'll just have to wait. Why don't you go play with Mayuhorin?" Momo said. Rukia immediately shook her head.

"No! I can't play with her!" she said in a suddenly upset tone.

"Why not?" Momo asked.

"I can't! She hates me!" Rukia said tearfully.

"What? Hates you? That's nonsense!" Momo said.

"Yeah, why would she hate you?" Toushiro asked. Rukia froze, seemingly only just noticing Toushiro.

"Ask him, he hates me too!" Rukia said, tears coming to her eyes, "They both hate me!"

"What? I don't hate you and neither does 'Rin," Toushiro said, "Where did you get that idea?"

"You…you were angry at me before…you…you…" Rukia broke down into tears, "I'm sorry! I didn't know what would happen!" Momo knelt down and put a hand on the crying Rukia's shoulder.

"Rukia, look at me," she said, tilting Rukia's chin up, "I don't know what it is you're talking about, but I know that Toushiro doesn't hate you. Neither does Mayuhorin." Toushiro nodded.

"Mayuhorin never held anything against you. I know I was unfair to you, but don't be scared of her because of what I did and said," Toushiro said, "I…didn't realize that my actions have hurt you so bad for so long." Rukia looked up, sniffling a little.

"I…she must though…you did too…and she…"

"How much have you talked with her since then? Have you thought to ask her if she was ever mad at you or if she held anything against you?" Toushiro asked, "'Rin is a kind person. If she was ever angry at you, she wouldn't stay angry. I just can't imagine her holding a grudge. She doesn't hate you, and neither do I."

"You don't hate me?" Rukia asked.

"No, and if you talked to 'Rin I'm sure she would tell you that she doesn't hate you either. I don't know what's been going on with you these past few years, but if I am at all responsible for any of your problems, I'm truly sorry."

"I…I have to go…" Rukia said. She ran over to Momo and gave her a hug, and then gave a smaller one to Toushiro. She then got on her bike and rode off. After she was out of their line of sight, Momo turned to Toushiro.

"What was that about? What were you two talking about?" she asked in confusion. Toushiro sighed.

"The same thing as last time, only more related to me," Toushiro said, "I know that we already told you about how traumatized Rukia was by…you know, but afterwards, I sort of made it worse. Rukia was with _her_ at the time it happened. It wasn't her fault, she didn't do anything wrong, but being young and in grief, I turned my grief into anger and blamed her for it. I…was really mean to her. Looking back on it, I wince at the things I did back then. I'd rather not tell you about the things I did to her back then, but needless to say she isn't unjustified in thinking I hate her. She probably assumed that because I was treating her like that, 'Rin must have felt the same way. That wasn't true though. Mayuhorin never expressed any anger after that, and spent more time with Rukia than with me. She was probably trying to help her, but with me acting the way I was and her being completely traumatized, her mind probably warped that into something else."

They were silent for a moment before Toushiro suddenly spoke again.

"I'm sorry…"

"For what?" Momo said in surprise.

"For not telling you about that before. I know I should have as soon as we encountered Rukia, or maybe even before that. I shouldn't have hidden things from you," he said.

"What brings this up all of a sudden?" Momo asked.

"I don't know, it's just the realization that you and I have been as close as can be for all these years, yet still I hid such things from you. I know you must be upset at me for that," Toushiro said.

"I don't hold it against you. It's only natural to not want to talk about unpleasant memories. You've already told me enough about you to right a book. I know you weren't intentionally hiding things from me," Momo said. She chose her words carefully. Toushiro was truly opening up to her, and she wanted to treat him kindly for it. She understood why he didn't tell her everything about sensitive things in his life, and didn't want to be angry at him for it. She cared too much about him to be angry.

"Come on, let's go get something to eat," Momo said, picking up the pace as they walked into town.

---

Momo and Toushiro sat at a booth in a small diner in town. They were both sipping milk shakes, Momo a strawberry one and Toushiro a vanilla one. Crumpled up burger wrappers and empty sodas were pushed off to the side. The diner was somewhat cramped and a little dark, but it was nice and quiet, and the air pleasantly cool. They didn't talk much, content with the simple fact that they were spending time together.

Toushiro watched as Momo's slurped up her strawberry milkshake, her eyes closed blissfully as her mouth puckered around the straw. Knowing that she wouldn't see, Toushiro smiled. He wasn't really the smiling type, but when he spent time with Momo like this, he always felt like smiling. He didn't of course, he never allowed himself to show too much emotion. It was just a part of his personality. Everyone had always said that he was like ice. Some people teased him for it, others were alienated by it, and others simply thought he was antisocial. He had difficulty making friends as a result. No one ever seemed to be able to look past that icy shell. Nobody except Momo that is. When they first met, he was still under severe emotional stress from Yuuki's death and his parent's divorce. He no longer had Mayuhorin to confide in, and the separation from her only worsened his mental state. Then Momo came along and started to follow him around. He didn't know why she did it, he was always cold and rude to her, but she still spent time with him. Over time, she was able to penetrate that icy shell and truly be his friend.

Toushiro treasured Momo every bit as much as Mayuhorin, which was why it hurt him to see her jealous of his sister. He knew that it was natural for Momo to feel this way, but he still felt bad about it. His relationship with Mayuhorin was much warmer and more outwardly friendly than with Momo, which may have been part of why Momo felt jealous. She didn't realize that Toushiro expressed his affection for her in a different way than he did for Mayuhorin, and that the thought was still the same. He wanted Momo to be happy. He cared for her more than even she realized, and wanted to ensure her happiness.

Toushiro watched as Momo sucked up the last of the milkshake. She shivered and gave a long, borderline-orgasmic moan.

"Mmm…oh god that's so good!" Momo panted, taking a deep breath, "How's your shake Toushiro? Mine's fantastic!"

"Pretty good," Toushiro said, "Nice and cold with great flavor."

"So what did you want to do next?" Momo asked.

"I dunno," Toushiro said, "I guess we could just walk around town and see what we find."

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Momo said, taking one last sip of her nearly empty milkshake before setting it down. Moments later, Toushiro finished his. After throwing away the empty food containers, they walked back outside.

Toushiro squinted in the sunlight, his eyes previously adjusted to the darkened diner. The air was a lot warmer too. He didn't like bright lights and warm weather, but knew that Momo enjoyed them, so didn't complain. They walked side by side down the sidewalk, looking for something else to do.

"How about a movie?" Toushiro asked.

"Nah, it's too nice of a day to be in a dark theater," Momo said. Toushiro inwardly smirked. A cool dark theater was exactly the way _he_ would have liked to spend a day like this.

"Okay…how about an arcade? I think I saw one on the other side of town," Toushiro suggested.

"No way, I'm horrible at arcade games," Momo said, "How about we go shopping!"

"No. Freaking. Way." Toushiro said. He was not going to walk around a store all day carrying Momo's bags while she shopped.

"Fine then, you wanna go to the beach?" Momo asked.

"No," Toushiro immediately said, "I don't swim."

"What do you mean you can't swim? I've seen you swim before! You're a great swimmer!" Momo said.

"That was in pools, I don't swim in natural bodies of water," Toushiro said.

"That's silly!" Momo said, "Why not?"

"I have my own reasons for it," Toushiro said curtly.

"It would be nice and cool, you'd really love it!" Momo said, attempting to tempt him.

"I don't care."

"I know you'd enjoy it if you gave it a chance."

"No I wouldn't, which is why I'm not going."

"Well you're going," Momo said in a tone that left no room for dissent.

Toushiro silently cursed. He didn't know how he would get out of this. He didn't want to tell Momo the truth of why he didn't want to go. She still didn't know the circumstances of Yuuki's death, and didn't understand how going into water bothered him so much. He was fine with pools, but with lakes and oceans, he felt extremely nervous and uncomfortable whenever he was there. He was glad that Momo hadn't suggested swimming in a river. Toushiro was completely terrified of rivers. He felt embarrassed and ashamed for having such fears, and even more ashamed for not telling Momo about them. He couldn't tell her, he simply couldn't bring himself to do it. He felt bad for hiding such fears from her, but he knew he could never manage to tell her. He didn't want her to know how insecure he really was about things like this. Toushiro didn't want to go anywhere near the coast, and hurriedly thought of an excuse not to go.

"I don't have a swimming suit, so I can't go swimming," he said as casually as possible.

"Oh, you don't need to worry about that…" Momo said with a smile, "I already got you some!" She reached into her bag and pulled out a pair of aqua green swim trunks with a wavy pattern on them.

"I-I've never really tried those on before, so we don't really know if they'll fit me," he hurriedly said.

"Oh come on, stop making excuses! Momo said, pulling on Toushiro's arm, leading him in the direction of the beach.

---

"This is a beach?" Toushiro asked skeptically.

The 'beach' was a stretch of coast covered in tiny pebbles but with little sand. There weren't any other people present, probably due to the fact that the area was separated from town by a tall hill, with the forest surrounding the rest of the beach.

"It's fine, now change into your swim trunks over there," Momo said, pointing to a small set of restrooms, she held out the swimming trunks she brought for Toushiro and he snatched them away and stalked off.

When he was in the restrooms, he reluctantly changed into the swimming trunks. He knew Momo meant well by doing this, but it had put him in an awkward position. He couldn't handle going out into the water and swimming; he had never gone swimming in a lake, river, or ocean since Yuuki died. What was he going to do? If he refused to go into the water it would make Momo more curious about his past, not to mention hurting her feelings. He took a deep breath. He was going to have no choice but to do this.

He stepped out, now wearing the swim trunks. While he had to admit that they fit well and looked good on him, he felt embarrassed wearing these around Momo, especially when she would be wearing a swimming suit of her own. He still recalled Momo and Mayuhorin's joke on him from the morning, and groaned. He honestly had no clue why his sister would want to show off her body in a revealing bathing suit to her brother. He knew it was just to mess with him, but it was still weird.

He wandered outside mumbling to himself, soon coming face to face with Momo in her bathing suit. He had tried to avoid looking at it that morning, but now staring was unavoidable. He could not deny it: Momo looked good. The bathing suit was not too revealing, but it didn't hide too much of her either. Her attractive figure and nice skin were quite visible in the suit. Her chocolate brown hair was released from its usual bun, and hung freely across her shoulders.

"So Toushiro, what do you think?" she asked.

"Hot…Oh! No, I mean it's too hot to be out here!" Toushiro quickly corrected himself, "We'll both get sunburned, we should change back and return to the house."

"Oh don't worry," Momo said with a knowing smirk, "I already brought sun tan lotion,"

"You thought of everything didn't you?" Toushiro asked sourly. Momo led Toushiro over to where she had set up a beach towel, near the edge of the shore. Toushiro's breathing became fasts as they got closer the shore, the crashing waves making him wince.

"Okay, now sit down," Momo said.

"What? Why?" Toushiro said, now extremely anxious due to the water just a short distance away.

"What do you mean why? To put on sun screen! You just said that it was hot and that we'd get sunburned. Unless of course you were talking about a different kind of hot…"

"Give me that," Toushiro grumbled, reaching for the suntan lotion only for Momo to take it away.

"No-no! It's best to have another person do it so that you don't have to worry about missing a spot!" Momo said. Before Toushiro could object, Momo had taken the sunscreen into her hands and began rubbing it onto Toushiro. Toushiro remained stiff, still anxious about having to go into the water, but increasingly embarrassed by Momo's continuous rubbing of the sunscreen on him in a manner that felt more like a massage. He particularly disliked the amount of attention she was giving to his chest and abdominal muscles.

"Okay, I think that's enough," Toushiro said.

"Very well then. In that case, it's your turn," Momo said sitting down on the towel.

"What?"

"Rub the suntan lotion on me! You don't want me to get skin cancer do you?" Momo said sweetly, wiggling her toes.

Groaning, Toushiro put some sunscreen in his hand and reluctantly began rubbing it onto Momo. He tried to focus on her arms, but in the end was left with no choice but to rub it onto her back and stomach as well. When he rubbed it onto her stomach, she giggled.

"That tickles Toushiro!" she laughed.

"You're the one that's making me do this," he grumbled, putting some on her shoulders, "Can I stop this now?"

"Oh, okay," Momo said, "We can go in the water now."

Toushiro gulped. This was what he had been dreading. He felt afraid. It wasn't really the water itself that made him so anxious, but the memories. He couldn't do this, he had to think of an excuse to get away from here. He began breathing quickly, his heart pounding as he and Momo approached the water.

Momo immediately ran in, splashing down several feet out. Toushiro winced at the sound of the splash.

"Brrr! That's cold!" Momo laughed, "It feels nice and refreshing though! Come on Toushiro, you'll love it!"

Toushiro edged forward, staring at the water as if it were a foe from the past. He had never felt so embarrassed and ashamed for his fear. He took a deep breath. This wasn't a river like the one where Yuuki died. He already knew he could handle water, he had gone swimming in pools after all. There was no reason he couldn't do this. In fact, he had to do this. He had to get over his fear right now.

"Toushiro! I'm waiting!" Momo called, now about fifteen feet out.

Taking a deep breath, Toushiro stepped back a little before running straight at the water. His feet splashed through the cold water and as soon as he was in deep enough water he submerged his entire body. He surfaced immediately, taking deep breaths and wiping the water out of his eyes. It was several moments before he realized that he had just successfully conquered his fear. He looked down at his partially submerged body with pride. He had done it, he had actually done it! The water felt great! It was cold despite the warm weather, and he loved it.

"You like it Toushiro?" Momo said. Toushiro turned to her with a smile.

"Yes Momo, I think I do," he said.

"That's great! Now follow me! I want to show you something!"

Momo and Toushiro waded out, going from thigh-deep to waist-deep to chest-deep. The water was nice and clear, and it was very gentle.

"What did you want to show me?" Toushiro asked.

"I wanted to show you this really cool-Splash fight!!!" Momo suddenly yelled. Caught off guard, Toushiro received a big face full of water.

"Momo!" Toushiro yelled. Momo meanwhile was giggling her head off. A smirk crossed Toushiro's face. "Fine, you asked for it."

Toushiro extended his hand under the water and brought it forward with a swiping motion, creating a big surge of water that hit Momo right in the face.

"Hey!" she said indignantly. Toushiro merely chuckled. His chuckling stopped however when he saw that Momo had disappeared. He looked around.

"Momo?" he said uncertainly. Suddenly Momo launched herself completely out of the water from below, coming back down with a huge splash. Toushiro had barely cleared his eyes when she tackled him from behind, grabbing onto him.

"Why you-" Toushiro took advantage of his smaller stature and slipped out of her arms, turning around to tickle her tummy.

"Hahaha! Toushiro!" she laughed.

"You started this Momo!" Toushiro said, now laughing himself.

They playfully wrestled and splashed eachother for what seemed like forever, laughing the entire time. By the time they were done, they were practically too tired to move. They exhaustedly hauled themselves back to shore, collapsing on top of eachother onto their beach towel. Toushiro looked up at the grinning Momo on top of him. Both of them were breathing heavily as they looked eachother in the eyes.

Toushiro gazed up into Momo's brown eyes as her dripping wet chocolate brown hair hung over her shoulders. Had this been some other time, he probably would have told her to get off of him, but not right now. For now he wanted to savor this moment. He didn't mind the weight of her on him or the fact that they were both wearing only swimming suits. All he cared about was the fact that he was with Momo. Their chests rose and fell, pressing into eachother's bodies. Momo put an arm around Toushiro, with Toushiro wrapping his arms around Momo in a hug, bringing their wet bodies closer together. Momo nuzzled her face up against Toushiro's, wearing a big smile.

"You know, that's the happiest I think I've ever seen you," Momo said quietly, resting on top of Toushiro.

"Yeah…" Toushiro said, stroking Momo's back.

"You're in a lot better shape than I remember from the last time I saw you with your shirt off," Momo giggled, feeling Toushiro's chest with her free hand. Toushiro blushed but smiled. He couldn't help but wonder what would become of them. They had always been friends, but would they ever be more? He'd occasionally thought about what a romance with Momo would be like, but always dismissed the thought as silly. It was difficult to imagine him and Momo being romantically involved. The idea of them someday getting married and having children was an odd thought.

Momo sighed and snuggled up against him, causing Toushiro to smile. He brushed aside all thoughts and just enjoyed being with Momo.

They remained as they were for a long time, perhaps hours. Neither of them spoke, moved, or fell asleep. They only thought of how happy they were like this.

Suddenly however, there was a loud yell. Momo and Toushiro immediately snapped out of their daze and sat up to see a figure with a hockey mask brandishing a machete above them. Both immediately screamed in terror, grabbing onto eachother for dear life as they screamed.

"Jason Voorhees is going to get you!" the figure said in an intimidating voice. Momo continued screaming with her eyes tightly closed as she held on tightly to Toushiro, but Toushiro stopped to look up at the masked figure.

"Wait a minute…" he said. The masked figure pulled its mask off, revealing itself to be none other than Mayuhorin.

"You caught me!" she said with a laugh, "I just thought I'd give you lovebirds a little surprise!" Momo finally stopped screaming and looked up, her eyes wide.

"By scaring us half to death?!!" she asked.

"Uh, Momo…" Toushiro said. Momo looked down and realized that she was still firmly clamped onto Toushiro, her breasts pressed up against his face. She immediately let go, her face bright red.

"Don't be so tense, it was just a little joke!" Mayuhorin said.

"How did you even get here?" Toushiro asked.

"Forget that, what are you doing with a machete?!" Momo asked, clearly still rather shaken by Mayuhorin's prank.

"Oh that, that's to help cut up the watermelon," she said.

"What?"

"Okay, I'll start from the beginning. Cousin Ukitake came over and offered to cook us a roast for dinner. I was just about to slice up a watermelon when he told me and Orihime to go into town and look for you. Not thinking, I kept the machete when I got in the car with Orihime. Then Orihime came up with the idea of scaring you guys, so she stopped and bought a hockey mask and well, that's how I ended up like this! Now come on, Ukitake's probably done with the roast by now and we need to get home."

---

Orihime drove them back to the house. It was evening by the time they got back. When they arrived, they could already smell the delicious roast.

"Welcome back!" Ukitake said, "Sorry I haven't been able to check up on you yet, things have been busy for me. I hope you guys are having fun."

"Oh yeah, we've had plenty of exciting things happen to us," Toushiro said, glancing at Mayuhorin.

"Well that's great. The roast should be done in fifteen or twenty minutes, so you kids have that much time before dinner."

Momo immediately went to rinse and comb her hair, which had gotten messy in the water. After washing it out, combing it, and putting it back in its usual bun, Momo walked back out to the living room.

"Where are Toushiro and Mayuhorin?" she asked.

"They're outside eating watermelon," Orihime said.

"What? But…but watermelon is our food! Toushiro and I always ate it together and…and…" Momo broke off. She suddenly felt very betrayed. Watermelon was a special food that Momo and Toushiro always would eat together? Toushiro knew that, why would he suddenly eat it with Mayuhorin without inviting her? She knew it was little, but watermelon was practically the symbol of their friendship, and she felt sad and betrayed that Toushiro would have watermelon with someone else without inviting her. She went over to the other side of the house, poking her head out the door to see that Toushiro and Mayuhorin were indeed eating watermelon together. They were at the top of the steep slope that was behind the house, gazing out at the setting sun's outline against the trees.

Momo sighed, and was about to go off to sulk in her room when she spotted a box of latex gloves that Toushiro had used the previous night while cleaning out the cooking pots used for one of Orihime's ghastly concoctions. She thought of how Mayuhorin had interrupted her and Toushiro's special moment together with a prank, and an idea came to mind. She reached in and pulled out a single glove. Giggling, she ran off to the bathroom, running back with the latex glove now filled with water and tied up like a water balloon. She ran outside to behind where Toushiro and Mayuhorin were standing.

"Hey Mayuhorin! Think fast!" Momo yelled as she threw the water-filled glove. Mayuhorin turned around just as the water balloon hit her, with a splash. For a split second Momo felt a sense of victory and satisfaction. That feeling was wiped away moments later when Mayuhorin fell over the edge of the steep slope.

"'Rin!" Toushiro yelled, immediately running down the set of stairs nearby to the bottom of the slope where Mayuhorin lay. Momo stared in shock, her hands covering her mouth. What had she done?

Momo immediately ran down the stairs to where Mayuhorin was laying. The slope went down nearly twenty feet and was extremely steep, with several jagged rocks sticking out near the bottom. When she got to the bottom, she saw to her horror that Mayuhorin was bleeding from a gash to her head and was covered in cuts and bruises. Toushiro slowly helped Rin to her feet.

"'Rin! Are you okay! Speak to me! Hold on 'Rin, I'm going to go get Ukitake and have him call a hospital!" Toushiro yelled frantically, "Can you talk?"

"I'm…fine Toushiro," Mayuhorin said weakly, "Really, it's just a few bruises, no reason to call the hospital." Toushiro seemed to be slightly relieved when he heard her speak, but moments later he turned to Momo, furious and shaking. Momo backed up, tears of guilt and fear in her eyes.

"I…I'm so sorry Toushiro! I-" she tried to say but stopped when she saw Toushiro's fist come flying at her. She screamed and flinched. The strike never came however. She opened her eyes to see Toushiro's fist stopped mere inches from her face, his entire body shaking in anger.

"You…you…" Toushiro snarled, his eyes wide with rage. Momo had never seen Toushiro this angry before. It was frightening to see her friend in this state.

"I…I…" she stuttered, unable to speak.

"Look what you've done!" Toushiro screamed at her, "You hurt my sister! You could have killed her! What the hell were you thinking?!!" Momo was shaking, tears coming down her cheeks.

"I'm so sorry Toushiro! I was just…I was only trying to…I never meant…"

"Don't give me that crap, I've seen the way you've been lately," Toushiro said furiously, "You've been jealous of 'Rin the entire time! I could accept that and even tried to spend more time with you so that you wouldn't feel left out, but look what you did! Don't try to pretend that this was just some innocent prank! You really wanted to hurt her!"

"No!" Momo said frantically, "I was only playing around! It was just a-!"

"A prank? Then why didn't you do it to me? You were targeting her specifically Momo, I can tell! Jealousy is natural, but this…this is beyond anything I would have expected of you!"

"Toushiro…" Mayuhorin said quietly, "She didn't mean anything by it, and besides, I'm perfectly-" she broke off, wincing and keeling over.

"'Rin! I knew it, you need to go to the hospital! You've probably broken your back and have internal bleeding! I'm getting you to a hospital right now!" Toushiro grabbed onto Mayuhorin's arm and looped it around his shoulder, beginning to carry her up the stairs.

"T-Toushiro…" Momo said, too filled with shame and guilt to think of what to say. Toushiro turned to her, giving her a glare so cold that it felt as if it pierced her very soul.

"Momo, if you can't be happy for me or accept that I truly care about 'Rin, then perhaps we should rethink this friendship of ours," he said coldly, turning to carry Mayuhorin up the stairs and leaving a crying Momo behind.

* * *

Thanks for reading! Thank you to AznVKai, Koneko114, sma4ever, Merciless Ruby, SunsetRainbow, animelover24271, DW64, and Assault Godzilla for reviewing! Please review!


	9. Chapter 9

Mayuhorin

_Chapter Eight_

Momo cried into her pillow, ashamed of what she had done. She felt sick. Sick from sadness and sick from guilt. She couldn't remember how long it had been since she had locked herself in her room to weep. She ignored knocks on the door and the voices of Ukitake and Orihime pleading with her to come out to talk. They both insisted that Mayuhorin was fine and that she was out of the hospital almost as soon as she went in, but Momo still could not bring herself to answer them.

She couldn't believe herself. She had really hurt Mayuhorin. Even if she hadn't meant to hurt her so badly, it was her jealousy of her and desire to have Toushiro for herself that caused her to do what she did. She was despicable. Instead of feeling happy for Toushiro, she had felt jealousy and tried to steal Toushiro's attention for herself. Because of that, Mayuhorin was now badly hurt, and Momo's friendship with Toushiro very likely over.

It was all her fault. She had nobody but herself to blame. She deserved Toushiro's anger. She had hurt someone very dear to him out of her own petty jealousy. Why couldn't she just be happy for Toushiro? Even if he forgave her, Momo did not know how she could call herself Toushiro's friend after this. She had betrayed his trust in her and allowed her jealousy to get the best of her. Toushiro hadn't seen Mayuhorin in years, he was perfectly justified in spending time with her.

Momo wished she had never come to this place. She wanted to be with Toushiro at a time she thought he'd need her, but in the end she just ended up causing problems for him and ruining their friendship. She doubted that Toushiro would ever forgive her. As much as he cared about her, he wouldn't forgive such selfish actions that resulted in harm coming to his sister. Even if he did forgive her, their friendship probably wouldn't be the same. He wouldn't trust her after an incident like this, and he would always have doubts about her.

Momo's stomach growled. It had been so long since she'd eaten anything. What time was it? It must be afternoon by now. She had stayed up crying straight through the night and through the day. She sniffled, reaching for a tissue and wiping her eyes off and blowing her nose. She threw the tissue in the garbage, where it joined a pile of other tissues. Momo wiped at her puffy red eyes as she silently sobbed. The tears were beginning to stop flowing. She felt like she was physically incapable of crying anymore. This didn't take away any of her sadness though. She swallowed, attempting to clear her throat of the mucous dripping from her sinuses. She wished she had some water to drink, but didn't dare leave her room.

As she thought of this, there was a knock on the door.

"Momo?" It was Mayuhorin. Momo buried her head further into the pillow, too ashamed to respond. Mayuhorin knocked again.

"Momo, I'm fine! I know you didn't mean any harm, now come out! We're about to make dinner and want you to join us!"

"I don't want dinner," Momo said miserably, even as her stomach growled in hunger.

"You haven't eaten for over twenty-four hours! You need something to eat!" Mayuhorin said.

"I don't deserve to eat any food you make for me…" Momo sniffled, "You let me stay here but I still ended up hurting you. I don't deserve to eat at your table."

"I don't care about that! Just come out and get something to eat!"

"No," Momo said.

"How about we wait to make dinner for when you're feeling better. Come out when you want us to make you something."

"Don't bother, I'm not coming out. You just make food for yourselves and forget about me," Momo said, burying her head in her pillow. She ignored Mayuhorin's attempts to reason with her, wrapping herself up in a blanket and ignoring everything.

As the time passed however, she increasingly found that she couldn't take this anymore. The hunger was quickly becoming physically painful. The thoughts of eating food seemed appealing, but the idea of having to face Toushiro made her resist the urge. She didn't feel well, but she didn't want to go ask for help. She didn't belong here, it wasn't right for her to bother them with taking care of her. Despite this, she found she was unable to stand the hunger. The mucous dripping down her throat was making her sick to her stomach, and the lack of food was getting to her head.

Momo couldn't take it anymore. The hunger was unbearable. Not only was her stomach empty and sick-feeling, she felt weak from going so long without food. Her head hurt and she felt shivery, yet hot at the same time. She needed food and water. She dreaded facing Toushiro, but she couldn't wait any longer. She slowly got out of the bed, immediately feeling dizzy from the movement. She rubbed her aching head, taking a deep breath. She took slow, careful steps towards the door. Her legs were shaky and every moment she felt as if she would fall down.

When she was out of the door, she slowly took one step after the other down the stairs, careful not to fall down. Her vision was somewhat unfocused and she felt dizzy. All the shame and fear was getting to her. By the time she reached the bottom of the stairs, she was drifting in and out of reality every few seconds. One moment she would be standing where she was and the next she was in a surreal, dream-like state.

When she finally got out to the dining room, she saw that Ukitake, Orihime, Mayuhorin, and Rukia were all at the table. She was barely able to comprehend anything, but she was able to see that all of them were looking at her. She looked into Toushiro's eyes, and received a cold glare in return. She suddenly felt her shaky legs lose all strength beneath her. She swayed in place for a moment, the room spinning, before she collapsed, everything going dark just before she hit the floor.

---

Momo groaned. She felt cold and shivery, but her face felt hot. She had a pounding headache, and her entire body felt weak. Her limbs felt as if they were made of stone, and she could barely move them. She vaguely heard voices, but they sounded far off, and she couldn't make out what they were saying. She didn't know where she was, and couldn't remember anything. Her mind felt all mixed up.

Momo suddenly felt something cold and wet on her forehead. She slowly began to snap out of her daze. The voices were getting clearer. She slowly opened her eyes a crack. She still felt disoriented, but she began to understand where she was. She realized that she was lying on the couch, and that she was propped up against some pillows. Her chest was rising and falling rapidly as she breathed in an irregular manner. She began to more clearly see the two people in front of her, and she was beginning to understand what they were saying.

"…she's waking up…" she heard one of them say.

"Momo…can you hear me?" one of the figures said. Momo tried to say 'yes', but her voice stuck in her throat, and instead only a tiny moan came out.

"You're dehydrated, do you think you can drink some water?" the same person said. Momo managed to give the tiniest of nods, indicating that she did feel that she could drink some water. The figure put a hand behind her head, tilting it so that she was in an upright position, and then brought a cup of water to her lips. A bit of water trickled into her mouth, which Momo gratefully swallowed. The water felt good, and she was able to lift a hand up to the cup to push the hand holding it upwards, pouring more water into her mouth. She gulped it down, with some of it trickling down her face. The water had an immediate effect on her, and she began to feel more alert.

Momo coughed a little as she drank the last of the water, gasping for breath after having drank so quickly. She looked up and saw that Ukitake and Orihime were next to her, their faces displaying both concern for her and relief that she was conscious.

"What…" Momo said weakly, "What...ha…happened?"

"You fainted," Ukitake said, "You have a fever, and going without food or water for so long can't have helped. You've been out for a few hours. You're lucky you came out when you did. If you'd stayed locked in your room you could have ended up in big trouble."

Momo tried to remember what he was talking about. She remembered leaving her room and going downstairs and then to the dining room and seeing…oh, that was right. The memories of what had happened, of why she had locked herself in her room came flooding back into her head, hitting her like a board. Tears immediately came to her eyes as she remembered everything that had happened.

"Mr. Ukitake…do you hate me too?" Momo asked quietly.

"Hate you?" Ukitake laughed, "Why would I hate you?"

"I hurt Mayuhorin," Momo said, tears beginning to roll down her cheek, "I…I hurt her because of my own stupid jealousy…" Ukitake sighed.

"Mayuhorin's part of my family, so I am a bit upset with you. As someone who's been trusted with looking after you, I'm also a bit disappointed that you would do something so reckless. But no, I don't hate you," Ukitake said.

"Toushiro hates me," Momo said quietly, now suppressing sobs, "I hurt his sister, and now he hates me."

"No, no, no, he doesn't hate you," Ukitake said, "He's very angry at you, and probably won't get over this quickly, but he doesn't hate you."

"Yes he does," Momo said miserably, "I betrayed our friendship and hurt someone he really cared about. He probably never wants to see me again. It would be best if I just stayed out of his life from now on."

"Stop it," Ukitake said firmly, "You need to stop this Momo. If you get yourself worked up over this right now, you'll just make yourself sicker. Focus on getting better for the time being, and we can sort this all out later."

Momo nodded but didn't stop crying.

"I'm going to get you some more water and something to eat," Ukitake said. He walked off towards the kitchen, leaving only Orihime.

"Orihime," Momo said quietly, "Where is Toushiro?"

"He and Mayuhorin went to sleep a while ago. It's nearly midnight, you've been out all evening," Orihime said.

"Did he talk about me today?" Momo asked quietly, "How angry is he with me?"

"Pretty angry," Orihime said, "Last night he looked like he was about to explode as soon as he was sure Mayuhorin was fine. Today he got mad every time someone said your name." Momo hung her head in guilt.

"However," Orihime continued, "When you fainted he was the first one to run over to you. He also watched you for over an hour after you passed out. He didn't really do anything, but the fact that he spent so much time there with you must mean he still cares about you, right?" Momo thought about this.

"Yeah, I guess so…" Momo said uncertainly. As Momo pondered whether their friendship could be saved, Ukitake walked into the room carrying a tray of food and a large container of water with a straw in it.

"Here you go. I decided to only put in mild foods like cucumbers, granola, and crackers so your stomach won't get upset. If you want something a bit more flavorful, you should wait to make sure this stuff settles well with you," Ukitake said.

"That's fine, this is plenty," Momo said, gratefully taking the food. She quickly began eating, satisfying her extreme hunger. When she was finished, she set the tray down and leaned back.

"Would you like us to stay here a bit longer?" Ukitake asked.

"No, I think I'll be fine. I'd like to get some rest now," Momo said with a somewhat forced smile.

---

Momo remained bedridden for about a week. Ukitake, Orihime, and Mayuhorin were always there to take care of her, causing her to feel even more guilty for hurting Mayuhorin. Despite what she had done, they were still caring for her in her time of need. Momo had broken down in tears when she first saw Mayuhorin. She had stitches for the cut on her forehead and a cast for her ankle, which had a minor fracture. She had several nasty bruises and cuts. Mayuhorin assured her that everything was fine and that she held nothing against her, but Momo didn't really believe that. Despite this, every day Mayuhorin was there to help take care of her, putting a wet rag on her head and giving her popsicles to suck on.

Notably absent was Toushiro. Despite her hopes that Toushiro might talk to her, he completely avoided her. Every time he walked past he would speed up his pace and glare at her. Momo felt heartbroken that he was being so cold towards her. She knew she probably deserved it, but still felt incredibly sad about it.

When Momo finally got better, she decided it was better to avoid Toushiro, and she began spending her days with Rukia instead. Rukia was overjoyed to have someone to play with everyday and Momo had some fun too, but it wasn't the same as the time she spent with Toushiro.

"Momo, what's wrong?" Rukia asked one day.

"What? Oh nothing!" Momo said, having drifted off into space as she and Rukia drank milkshakes. This was the same place she and Toushiro had gone…

Momo shook her head, trying not to think of such things. It was hard though. Everything seemed to remind her of Toushiro, and worse, she couldn't avoid those things. She always felt drawn to them. Perhaps she was hoping to herself that if she thought about the good times she had with Toushiro things would go back to normal. She just didn't know.

"So Rukia, what did you want to do today?" Momo asked, trying to distract herself from her thoughts.

"Well I was hoping that we could go to the craft store! I know this really cool craft that you can make with popsicle sticks and yarn!" Rukia said, grabbing onto Momo's hand. Momo gave her a small smile. Rukia had really gotten a lot more social since she had begun hanging out with Momo. Before she was almost always nervous and withdrawn, but now she was friendly and talkative. After hurriedly finishing their shakes, they left and went to a small craft store on the other side of town.

As they walked, they watched two young children playing at a park, chasing eachother around and laughing. Momo smiled, remembering how she and Toushiro used to play like that. In fact it was probably their first game. Well, not really a game. When Toushiro first arrived, he was extremely cold and withdrawn, and would not play with any of the other kids. Momo didn't know why, but she was instantly drawn to him. She attempted to have conversations with him and invited him to play many times, but he always refused. Most other kids would have given up after this, but not Momo. She continued, despite Toushiro's insistence that he stop pestering her. One day, he actually got up and ran away from her, at which point Momo chased after him. After a long chase around a town park, she tackled him to the ground. Unfortunately, they did so right next to a large puddle of stinky water from a leaking fountain. They were both completely soaked in the stagnant, scummy water. Toushiro's mother happened to be nearby, and insisted that both of them come to her and Toushiro's house to get washed off. After they had both been cleaned off, Toushiro's mother had insisted that Momo stay and have some watermelon. Thus, Momo and Toushiro ate watermelon together, and while doing so struck up a small conversation that ended up being the beginning of their friendship.

Momo sighed at the memory. She remembered how kind Toushiro's mother was, how she would always bake them cookies and invite Momo over to stay with them. When she became ill, Momo was almost as sad as Toushiro. Knowing Toushiro, he was probably thinking about his mother constantly. She was very ill, and nobody knew if she would get better. They all hoped, but nobody knew. Momo wondered what their father was like. Judging by Mayuhorin's attitude, he probably wasn't much like their mother. In fact, Mayuhorin seemed to hold a great deal of bitterness towards their father, and Toushiro did not seem to be bothered much by the fact that he was never there. She remembered how Toushiro told her that their father had always been very kind and caring, but after Yuuki's death became emotionally distant and obsessed with his work, eventually leading to his divorce with their mother.

As Momo thought of this, a thought struck her. Why hadn't Mayuhorin mentioned their mother? Surely she must be just as concerned about her as Toushiro. Was she in the dark about the severity of their mother's illness? Was Toushiro trying to shield her from the grim truth? Did she know about it but didn't mention it so as to not bring up the sensitive topic? Was she in denial herself about it? Momo had no idea. She would have to ask her about it. As she thought this, she mentally slapped herself. She wouldn't want to reveal such personal things to her after what Momo had done to her. Even if she insisted everything was fine, Momo did not like the idea of asking such personal questions after she had behaved the way she did. If she asked her at all, it would have to wait.

"We're here!" Rukia said happily as they arrived at the craft store. After going in, Rukia immediately ran over to the section with the yarn. She quickly picked out several colorful balls of yarn, followed by a box of popsicle sticks.

"Wow, you found the stuff you wanted already?" Momo said.

"Yup!" Rukia said, "Now come on, I want to get home and try it out as soon as we can!" They hurriedly checked out of the store and began walking to Rukia's house. When they arrived, Rukia promptly went inside and began setting things up. She took out some glue and began making crosses with the popsicle sticks.

"This is fast drying glue, so it will only take a few minutes to dry completely," Rukia explained.

"I see," Momo said. After she had made about two dozen of the popsicle crosses, Rukia took the yarn and began to show how to do the craft.

"Okay, first you tie it around the center…" Rukia did that, tying the yarn around the center of one of the popsicle crosses, "Then you begin wrapping it around the sticks!" She wrapped the yarn around each popsicle stick, building it up slowly but consistently. When it was done, the popsicle cross was covered in a highly decorative pattern of yarn. "Now you try it!"

Momo began making one, but almost as soon as she did was overcome with memories of how she and Toushiro used to make things like this together. Her hands fumbled and she messed up the weaving pattern as she attempted to make the craft while attempting to push away those memories of Toushiro.

"Momo, why are you crying?" Rukia asked. Momo put a hand to her cheek, and realized that tears were flowing down her face without her even realizing it.

"I…I have to go Rukia," Momo said, "I promise you I'll come back tomorrow, but right now I have to go."

Momo immediately got up and left the house briskly. She walked at a fast pace to Mayuhorin's house. She needed to talk to Toushiro. She couldn't wait any longer. She knew Toushiro was still angry at her, but she felt she had no choice. She had to see him and talk to him.

When she reached the house, she bolted straight to Toushiro's room, where she found him lying back in an afternoon nap.

"Toushiro!" she said breathlessly, her chest rising and falling quickly from coming so fast.

"What?" Toushiro said with a cold glare.

"We need to talk," Momo said.

"What's there to talk about?" Toushiro asked, sitting up.

"Toushiro please, I never meant to hurt her. I was just playing around. I know it was stupid and foolish, but I didn't want to hurt her!" Momo said pleadingly.

"But you did hurt her," Toushiro said, "You did what you did because you were jealous of her, and because of that ended up doing something that got her hurt," Toushiro said.

"I know…but I didn't want it to turn out like this! Please Toushiro, I'm so sorry. Won't you please forgive me? I don't want our friendship to be over," Momo said, her eyes full of tears. Toushiro broke his cold glare and sighed.

"Momo, I don't want our friendship to be over either. I'm not sure if I can forgive you though. I know some would probably think that I'm being stubborn or unfair, but they wouldn't understand," Toushiro said, "I've had my baby sister die right in front of me, my father abandon me, and my mother become extremely sick. So when you hurt Mayuhorin, you basically threatened the well-being of the only person left in my family that I thought I'd definitely have with me. I just can't forgive you easily for that. I still want to be friends with you, but…I think we'd better wait a while. I need to think things through." Momo nodded quietly.

"I understand, Toushiro."

---

That evening, Toushiro was lying on the couch, resting his eyes in deep thought when the phone rang. He cracked an eye open in annoyance.

"Phone!" he yelled. The phone kept on ringing, with nobody picking up.

"Orihime! 'Rin! The phone is ringing!" he yelled. Again nobody showed up and the phone continued to ring. Grumbling, Toushiro got up and walked over to the phone to answer it.

"Hello?" he said dully.

"Hello? Who is this?" the voice said on the other side of the line in a rushed voice amidst static.

"Well who is this?" Toushiro said irritably.

"This is Sarah Jones calling to speak with Toushiro Hitsugaya!" the voice said.

"Mrs. Jones?" Toushiro said, now recognizing the voice of the neighbor that often helped take care of his mother, "What are you calling for?"

"Listen Toushiro, your mother's health took a turn for the worse last night! She just got out of the emergency room and is being transferred to a hospice. We'll call you again tomorrow to keep you informed of what's going on, I have to go now!"

"Wait, don't hang-" Toushiro cut off at the sound of a beep, signaling that the other phone had been hung up. Toushiro began to breath heavily, his eyes wide. He stumbled back, collapsing on the couch, clutching his head as he hyperventilated.

"Toushiro? Were you yelling something a minute ago? I heard- Toushiro, what's wrong?" Momo asked upon seeing Toushiro.

"N-nothing of your concern…" Toushiro said, his eyes still wide and his breathing still fast and erratic, "Just…go away!"

"Toushiro, I know something is wrong, now tell me!" Momo said, sitting down next to him on the couch. Toushiro tried to tell her to go away, but he just couldn't hold onto his angry attitude towards her in light of this new revelation.

"I…I just got a call…" Toushiro said, "My…my mom is getting worse…they're transferring her to a hospice."

"Oh…I see…" Momo said, shocked by the news and unsure what to say. Toushiro was silent again for several minutes before asking Momo a question.

"Momo, what exactly is a hospice?" he asked.

"You…you don't know what a hospice is?" Momo asked. Toushiro nodded.

"I've heard it before and know it's obviously some sort of medical place, but I don't know exactly what it does," Toushiro said. Tears began coming to Momo's eyes, both in sadness for Toushiro's mother and the knowledge of what she would have to tell him next. She put a hand on his shoulder gently before speaking.

"Toushiro…a hospice is a place where people who are really sick go…it's where people go when…when it looks like they're not going to get better…" she explained, trying to keep her voice as gentle as possible as she spoke.

"What…you mean…you mean my Mom is going to die?" Toushiro said in horror, beginning to shake as he hyperventilated.

"Not-not necessarily!" Momo hastily said, "We don't know what will happen and she still has a chance! My grandpa got sent to a hospice under the assumption he only had three months to live but he ended up living ten…Oh god, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean it like that! I'm sure she'll live much longer! I meant that she still has a chance of defying the odds! We don't know what will happen, so don't give up hope!" Her words had little effect on Toushiro, who was now pulling on his hair as he shook and hyperventilated. Momo cursed herself for her lack of tact.

"Toushiro!" Momo said, trying to snap it out of him out of it to no avail. Suddenly, with no idea why she did it, Momo embraced him. Toushiro froze, stunned by his action.

"Momo?"

"It's going to be okay Toushiro," Momo said, tears coming from her eyes as she hugged Toushiro, "I'm here for you."

"I…I still don't know if I've forgiven you yet…" Toushiro said, his voice breaking as he held back his emotions.

"I know Toushiro. I don't care. You're still my friend, and I'm here for you. You don't need to hold back your sadness in front of me." As Momo spoke, Toushiro increasingly began losing his composure, and was soon crying into Momo's shoulder. Momo held him close to her, stroking his bright white hair as his tears stained her shirt.

"Shhh…" she said soothingly, "It's okay Toushiro…It'll be okay…"

---

Unbeknownst to them, they were being watched. Mayuhorin looked down at them from the stairs as they embraced, a small frown on her face and her eyes narrowed slightly.

* * *

Thanks for reading! Thank you to AznVKai, sma4ever, DW64, animelover24271, Kinaia, Merciless Ruby, and Assault Godzilla for reviewing! Please review! Also note that I'll be publishing a new story (maybe two) later today or tomorrow, so be sure to check it out!


	10. Chapter 10

Mayuhorin

_Chapter 10_

Momo and Toushiro quietly ate their breakfast at the table. Neither of them looked at the other or spoke. They hadn't spoken since the previous night, when Momo had comforted Toushiro when he learned of his mother's illness getting worse. Neither of them seemed to know what to think. Toushiro was still clearly upset about Momo's hurting Mayuhorin, but neither did he seem actively angry about it. He wasn't glaring or growling at her as he had before, and did nothing antagonistic towards Momo.

Momo was afraid to say anything, unsure if Toushiro would stay like this or if he would end up angry at her again if she spoke. He didn't seem angry at her, but she had no idea what he was thinking, and didn't want to accidentally make things worse. She hoped to patch up their relationship, but didn't really know how. After finishing her breakfast, she quietly took the plates into the kitchen to wash them off in the sink, thinking the whole time about how best to restore their friendship to its normal state.

Toushiro watched as she walked off. The anger he held towards Momo was nearly all gone after the previous night. He did not know what to say to her. After several weeks of being angry at her, feeling so indebted to her was strange. At his most vulnerable time, she had come to him and comforted him, even after he had been so rude and mean to her for the past several weeks. She really was a true friend. Deep down he knew that all along, but previously his mind was so full of anger at the time that he ignored it. He now felt guilty for being so hard on Momo. He knew all along that she hadn't meant any harm, yet still he had felt incredibly angry towards her. He couldn't help it. Mayuhorin was his sister and he was highly protective of her, especially after losing Yuuki. After seeing Momo do something out of jealousy that caused Mayuhorin great harm, he was unable to think rationally. He was so angry that someone he considered a friend had hurt his sister out of jealousy, that he was unable to think of anything else. At the time he had felt incredibly betrayed by Momo, but now he was beginning to feel like the one who betrayed her. She had always been there for him, and he knew that she was a gentle person who wouldn't intentionally hurt someone, yet he had been so cruel to her over the past several weeks. After that, he didn't know what to say to her, especially when she had made such a kind gesture as she had last night.

He watched as Momo began walking out to the living room. He had the urge to grab a hold of her and apologize for his treatment of her immediately, but he didn't feel he could really do it right now. He simply felt too worn out. He was still in emotional disarray from the news of his mother's poor health, and though Momo had helped him with that, he still felt very depressed. The news of his mother had hit him hard. He didn't know what he'd do if she were to die. Would he continue living here? Would he live with other relatives in their town? This brought about an entirely new concern, as he would eventually end up being separated from either Momo or Mayuhorin.

It was an unpleasant thought, and one that he didn't like to think of, but he knew it was inevitable. If their mother died, he would probably end up living here with Mayuhorin, but Momo would have to go back to their old town. If their mother lived, or if someone from their extended family took custody of him, he wouldn't be able to see Mayuhorin again for a long time. By the end of the summer, they were both expected to return home, and he would have to say goodbye to Mayuhorin all over again. He sighed, very frustrated. He pushed those thoughts from his mind. He may have to deal with them eventually, but he'd rather not right now, especially when he and Momo were just beginning to patch up their friendship.

A thought suddenly struck him. He hadn't told Mayuhorin of the news on their mother. He couldn't believe he had forgotten! He had been so upset over it that he had neglected to tell her. He wasn't sure how to approach her about it, but knew that she had the right to know.

"Momo?" he said. Momo turned to him cautiously.

"Yes?" she said, unsure what he wanted to talk about.

"Do you know where 'Rin is?" Toushiro asked.

"Why do you ask?" Momo said nervously. She wasn't sure if she was pushing her luck by questioning Toushiro like this, but she wanted to know why he suddenly wanted to know where Mayuhorin was.

"She doesn't know about our Mom yet. I have to tell her, she deserves to know," Toushiro explained.

"Oh… Well, I think she went into town," Momo said.

"I see," Toushiro said quietly. They were silent for a moment, unsure what to say. Finally Momo spoke up.

"I uh, promised Rukia that I'd do some crafts with her today, so I think I'll go over to her place now," Momo said, beginning to walk out.

"Wait!" Toushiro said. Momo turned to him, unsure what he wanted. Toushiro cleared his throat and composed himself. "Um, I mean, may I come with you?" Momo was stunned to the point of silence for a moment, but then smiled warmly.

"Of course you can," she said. Toushiro walked behind her as they left the house.

"Do you think we can take the long way to her house?" Toushiro asked. Momo laughed.

"Toushiro, she lives just down the street, there is no 'long way' to her house!" she said. Toushiro smiled sheepishly.

"Right…In that case, do you think we could walk down to the park before going to her house?" he asked.

"Of course," Momo said, tears of happiness nearly coming to her eyes.

---

Momo and Toushiro sat at the side of a pond in the small park located in town, throwing bread crumbs to ducks. It wasn't a huge park, but it was very nice. There were big trees, flowers, and three small ponds. Squirrels and chipmunks occasionally scurried across the ground, and birds sang in the trees. The ducks before them eagerly swarmed around them. They were mostly mallards, but there were a couple other types of ducks too. Momo and Toushiro held a packaged loaf of bread that they bought from the store, and were constantly tearing off chunks to give to the ducks.

"Look! Look! Look!" Momo said, pointing at a duck that had climbed on top of another to get a piece of bread that landed on its back.

"They like their bread," Toushiro commented, throwing a piece into the air and watching as several ducks simultaneously tried to jump up to get at it. They knocked it out of eachother's beaks, and it landed on the ground, at which point it was gobbled up by a smaller duck. Momo laughed.

"Thanks for suggesting this Toushiro," Momo said, "This was a terrific idea." She was still a little cautious with her behavior around Toushiro, but he had been acting rather normally around her, the way he usually did. She did not know if this meant that he was forgiving her, but she was glad that at least he was no longer angry.

"Momo, you want to go somewhere else now?" Toushiro asked as ducks nipped at his feet, quacking demandingly for more bread, "These guys are starting to get greedy."

"Okay Toushiro, we'll go over to the other side of the park," she said. They began walking over to the other side of the park. The park was located in a sort of trough in the center of town, meaning that they were below the level of the nearby roads and stores. This made the place seem secluded, despite being in the middle of town.

"Momo?" Toushiro said suddenly.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry." The words shocked Momo, and she completely stopped walking.

"What?"

"I'm sorry," Toushiro repeated, "I was a jerk to you over something that you had no idea was going to happen to you, and I let my anger cloud my judgment to the point that I forgot how much you really care for me. For that I'm sorry."

"No Toushiro, I'm sorry," Momo said, "I was jealous of how happy you were with Mayuhorin and played a stupid prank that ended up getting her hurt. You have every right to be angry at me."

"Upset maybe, but the way I treated you was out of line. I was horrible to you, I realize that now. And yet despite that, you were still there for me, despite everything I did…" Toushiro said, his voice shaking a little, "I don't know what I'd do without you Momo. I was so worried about Mayuhorin that I nearly ended up losing you. I've lost far too much to have risked something like that."

"I'll always be there for you Toushiro," Momo said gently.

"Thank you, Momo," Toushiro said. He leaned down and picked a soft orange wildflower, standing up and putting it in Momo's hair. "You're really an amazing person."

Momo smiled and cried tears of joy. Toushiro still wanted to be friends with her. She was happier than any time she could remember. She suddenly embraced Toushiro, crying into his shoulder.

"Why are you crying?" he asked in surprise.

"You-you dummy!" Momo sniffled, looking at him with a smile, "I'm crying because I'm happy!"

"You're weird," Toushiro smiled, continuing to walk over to the other side of the park. Suddenly however, Toushiro stopped in his tracks. Momo turned to him.

"What is it?" she asked.

"What's that?" he asked, his voice a bit shaky. He pointed at a structure a short distance away.

"It looks like a bridge, isn't there a little stream over there?" Momo said. Toushiro turned pale.

"A stream? There's a stream here?" he said nervously.

"Yeah, didn't you notice before? It's only about two or three feet across, but it's still a stream. I think it originates from another one that they diverted to reduce the water flow. Rukia showed it to me before. It has some crayfish in it that are fun to catch, do you want to check it out?" Momo said.

"N-no, let's just go," Toushiro said.

"What? But didn't you want to-"

"No, we should go. You said you promised to go over to Rukia's right? We should probably go there so she doesn't wonder where we are?" he said hastily.

"Toushiro, what on Earth is wrong?" Momo asked, baffled by his sudden behavior.

"Nothing is wrong!" he said in a strained voice, "I just…want to go now."

"Okay, okay," Momo said, holding her hands up in defeat, "We'll go now."

They walked back across the park, going past the other pond where the ducks were. The ducks immediately recognized them, and began following after them.

"Looks like we've got company," Momo joked. They walked over towards the other pond, hoping that maybe the ducks would decide to go there instead of pestering them for bread. They wanted to save some of the bread for later, and didn't want to give it all to them at once. Suddenly however, there was a loud hiss and the ducks scattered.

Momo and Toushiro turned to a cluster of reeds and cattails at the side of the other pond, and saw a massive swan walking out.

"Ooh! Look how pretty it is!" Momo said, beginning to walk towards it. Toushiro grabbed her before she could.

"Don't go near that thing!" he whispered, "Just stay still and back away slowly."

"Why?" Momo asked. Before he could answer the swan spread its huge wings and let out a hiss.

"That's why! Run!" Toushiro said. They immediately began running away, the swan chasing after them.

"Take the bread! Take it!" Momo yelled, throwing entire slices of bread over her shoulder. The Swan ignored the bread and continued chasing them Momo was able to stay ahead, but Toushiro was barely able to outrun the swan. It thrust its beak at his feet as they ran. Finally they reached the edge of the park, a five foot slope separating them from the road. They immediately began to scramble up, but Toushiro wasn't quick enough. The swan grabbed onto the back of Toushiro's shirt, causing him to fall back. The swan began to peck at him and hit him with its wings. Momo quickly jumped back down, landing right next to the swan, startling it enough to give her just enough time to grab Toushiro and run back up the slope.

The swan hissed at them, seeming to consider going up the slope in pursuit, but eventually turning and going back towards its pond. Momo and Toushiro both breathed heavily.

"What was _that_ about?" Momos said in shock, "We didn't even do anything to it!"

"It probably had a nest nearby," Toushiro said, "We were lucky to get away. Swans are really aggressive, and have actually killed people in the past."

"Wow…" Momo said, "Let's…go to Rukia's place now."

"Yeah…I agree…"

---

"Look at this one!" Rukia said cheerfully, holding up one of the yarn weavings. It had a combination of blue and pink yarn in an attractive pattern.

"That's nice, but check this one out!" Momo said. She held up a weaving with a yellow and royal purple pattern. "Show us what you've done Toushiro!" Momo said next.

Toushiro glumly held up his own weaving. It was entirely light blue and was rather uneven. Momo and Rukia laughed heartily, making Toushiro roll his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah; laugh it up," he said, "I know I'm no good at this kind of stuff anyways."

"Yeah, you're not really good in the arts and crafts department," Momo said, "Remember that jack-o-lantern you made for Halloween with nothing but a huge hole in its head? Or that thanksgiving cardboard turkey you made that looked like some sort of alien?"

"Yeah, well I'm more the intellectual type than the creative type," Toushiro said defensively, "I bet a lot of geniuses were horrible at art."

"Yeah like Leonardo DaVinci- oh wait, I just remembered he was great at art!" Momo laughed.

"Yeah, well I bet Steven Hawkings is bad at art," Toushiro retorted.

"That's because nearly his entire body is paralyzed," Momo said, "Here's someone else who was bad at art: Hitler. You're not like Hitler, are you?"

"Momo, cut it out. Besides, Hitler was great at art, just not good enough to get into an advanced art school," Toushiro said irritably. Momo giggled. It was nice that their relationship was finally beginning to return to its normal state. She wouldn't have dared tease him like this just a short time ago, but now they were able to do so just as they usually did.

"Do you guys like this one?" Rukia held up a pretty weaving of blue, emerald, and aquamarine yarns.

"That's terrific Rukia," Momo said with a smile, "You should show it to your parents when they get home." Rukia's smile faltered.

"They won't see it," she said.

"Why not?" Momo asked, "I'm sure they'd love to see it!"

"No," Rukia shook her head, "Papa went away, and Mom doesn't like me. I try to stay away from her when I can."

"Oh…I'm sorry," Momo said awkwardly. She always seemed to be accidentally breeching sensitive subjects. She felt bad that she had caused Rukia to become sad.

"Hey, would you like show Toushiro your rabbit?" Momo said, trying to divert her attention, "I'm sure he'd love to see it."

"Okay!" Rukia said, her mood bright again. She ran off to go get her rabbit. After a few minutes, she returned, carrying her large, snowy white rabbit in her arms. She sat down in front of them.

"Here she is!" Rukia said.

"She's a big one," Toushiro said, touching the rabbit's soft white fur, "What's her name?"

"Yuuki!" Rukia said. Toushiro froze, not moving a muscle.

"What did you say?" he asked quietly. Momo began to feel a sinking sensation in her stomach.

"Yuuki, her name is Yuuki," Rukia said. Toushiro remained still, looking down at the rabbit and up at Rukia several times. He was tense, and his breathing was becoming a bit faster than normal.

"No…" he said, "That's not Yuuki."

"Yes it is! That's what-"

"That's not Yuuki!" Toushiro repeated, a hint of anger in his voice.

"Toushiro," Momo said, putting a hand on his shoulder, "She just named the rabbit after her friend, she didn't mean to-"

"That is not Yuuki," Toushiro repeated, glaring at Rukia, "How dare you disrespect my sister's memory like this?" Rukia was cowering under Toushiro's intense gaze, tears coming to her eyes. She held the rabbit close to her, shaking in fear.

"Toushiro!" Momo said, grabbing his shoulder, "Calm down! Rukia doesn't deserve to be treated like this!" Toushiro closed his eyes and took a deep breath, calming himself.

"You're right," he said, "I'm sorry Rukia. I'm sorry Momo. I just…I have to go." He turned and walked away, exiting the house through the front door. Momo sighed.

"Rukia, will you be okay on your own?" she asked.

"Yes," Rukia said timidly. Momo nodded and walked out after Toushiro. When she went out though, Toushiro was already out of sight. She sighed.

"I wish he would tell me more about back then," she mumbled to herself, "There's so much I don't know about him."

"Would you like me to fill you in?"

Momo jumped in surprise, and turned to see that Mayuhorin was sitting on the ground between a nearby bush and the house.

"Mayuhorin? How-how have you been here?" said Momo.

"A while," she replied, "I saw that Toushiro just stormed out. I take it he was upset about something?"

"Yeah," Momo sighed.

"I could tell you a bit about our past if you'd like," Mayuhorin said quietly, "Perhaps I could shed a bit of light on why Toushiro is how he is."

"Really? You will?" Momo said in surprise.

"Of course, anything for a friend of my brother," Mayuhorin said with an odd smile, "Let's take a walk. There's something I'd like to show you. You can tell me what you want to know about Toushiro on the way."

---

Momo and Mayuhorin walked through the woods. They were walking in a different direction from where they had gone camping before, and the area was much more wild. There were lots of plants and shrubs on the ground, and the trees were a lot thicker. It was a tough walk, but at least they didn't have to carry everything on their back like last time. Momo was explaining to Mayuhorin the things she was wondering about Toushiro.

"And whenever someone brings up a subject like that, he always starts to act weird. I mean, I know there are some things that will be sensitive for him, but the way he reacts makes no sense sometimes. I just want to know more about why he acts the way he does sometimes. Even things that I like about him sometimes confuse me, like why he eats certain things or why he focused so much of his attention on me when we were back home. I just want to know more about him! I've always felt like I knew exactly who he was; we could always understand eachother and shared everything and knew everything about eachother, but now suddenly I feel like I don't know enough about him.

"Well, first let me say that I completely understand what you're saying," Mayuhorin said, "Toushiro is a complex person. More complex than almost all other people. He acts cold and rude, but is kind and protective to those he cares about. He's an introverted, private person, but his best friend is a cheerful extrovert. He rarely shows his emotions, but he holds so many of them. He rarely smiles, but takes delight in the smiles of others. He truly is a person of paradoxes."

"But why is he like that?" Momo asked, "Why is he the way he is. I know most of his personal tendencies, what I don't know is _why_ he has them."

"Well, to answer that we'd have to go back to when he and I were born," Mayuhorin explained, "As you know, we're fraternal twins, and as such shared a lot of things together. Our parents would dress us the same, we'd eat the same types of food, we learned to speak and walk around the same times as eachother, and we'd spend all of our time together. I don't remember everything since we were so young, but I remember enough. Back then, Toushiro was really shy and didn't stand up for himself much. Whenever we played together, he'd always do whatever I did, as if he wasn't sure what else he could do except copy me. He was happy, but just not assertive. He didn't really have any other friends. We were the same age, but he felt more like a little brother than a twin brother. Then when we were three, our mother became pregnant. Neither of us-"

"Oh my gosh!" Momo said, suddenly remembering, "I completely forgot to tell you. Your mom, she-"

"I know," Mayuhorin said simply, "I overheard everything."

"Oh…I see," Momo said, a bit confused as to why Mayuhorin did not seem particularly upset.

"Anyways, back to what I was saying," Mayuhorin said, "When we were three, our mom got pregnant. Neither of us cared at first. All we needed was eachother. When Mother gave birth to Yuuki though, everything changed. Toushiro thought that Yuuki was the most beautiful, wonderful thing he'd ever seen. At first, everything was the same with him except for spending a lot of time near Yuuki. Then, his personality began to change. He stopped being quite as shy and submissive, he began to be protective of Yuuki. Having a little sister to look out for made him much stronger. He would still usually do what I wanted to do, but his attitude was definitely different. He was still introverted, but he was more willing to be active than before. When Yuuki began developing a personality of her own, Toushiro changed even further."

"What do you mean?" Momo asked, stepping over a moss-covered log.

"Yuuki was a free spirit. She never let others tell her what to do and she always did whatever she wanted, all while wearing the brightest smile on earth. It rubbed off on Toushiro. He began doing what he wanted more often, and had a much brighter view on life. Of course, he still spent almost all of his time with me, but Yuuki's influence on him had changed things. He didn't behave quite the same way as before, and was more likely to do what _he_ wanted, not what I wanted. He began making other friends for the first time as well. In short, everything was changing for him."

"Hey Mayuhorin, do you think we should turn back? It looks like it's going to rain soon," Momo said, looking up at the increasingly dark clouds in the sky.

"It probably will rain, but first I'd like to show you something. We're almost there anyways," Mayuhorin said. She began walking a little faster through the brush, with Momo following. Momo noticed that the trees and brush were thinning, and that the ground was slowly becoming rockier.

"We're here," Mayuhorin said. Momo gasped in surprise at what she saw. A beautiful stream was in front of them, the shallow, crystal clear water trickling at a gentle pace.

"Amazing…" Momo said.

"Take your shoes and socks off, the water is great for wading," Mayuhorin said. Momo promptly removed her shoes and socks, and rolled up her pants a little. Mayuhorin did likewise, and they stepped into the water. It was cool and pleasant, and was only a few centimeters deep.

"Can you hear that noise?" Mayuhorin said, referring to a trickling noise coming from ahead, "That's the waterfall. The water flow is so low right now that it's only a little trickle, but it's really cool, come on, I'll show you!" Mayuhorin led Momo over to the waterfall. It was only two or three meters high, and the water was gently trickling over it, but it was still beautiful.

"It's fantastic," Momo said, going right up to the edge and looking over, the low rate of water flow allowing her to go right up to the edge, "I've never been to any place like this.

"That's nothing, there's a waterfall about a kilometer downstream that's nearly fifteen meters high. _That_ is a truly amazing sight," Mayuhorin said, "I'm glad you agreed to come here, seeing as I wouldn't be able to take Toushiro anywhere near this place."

"Why not?" Momo asked in confusion.

"Well, that brings us to the next part of the story," Mayuhorin said with a twisted smile, "You see, as time went by, Toushiro and Yuuki became closer and closer. Toushiro loved her and protected her. She had without a doubt changed his life for the better. Then, Yuuki tragically drowned."

"Your sister drowned?" Momo said in horror. Toushiro had never told her exactly _how_ Yuuki had died, and she had never pressed the subject.

"Indeed. It was on her fourth birthday party. It was at a park. Toushiro and I were climbing trees. Yuuki wanted to climb too, but she was too little, and we turned her away. Of course Yuuki, being the way she was, didn't listen to us, and tried to climb another tree. The tree was old and too close to the water though. It wasn't stable. The tree fell down, and Yuuki fell into the river. Toushiro was the one who pulled her out, but by then Yuuki was already dead. It traumatized Toushiro, more than anything else. It changed him. He became even more withdrawn than before, and it became very rare for him to be happy. Ever since then he's been afraid of rivers and moving water in general. You probably know the rest of the story."

"That's horrible," Momo said in shock, "I never realized…I had no idea." Suddenly things were making sense. Why Toushiro had been so nervous around the river that morning, why Toushiro got mad when she was climbing up trees and toppling them over…it all made sense now.

"You're a lot like Yuuki, you know that?" Mayuhorin said.

"What? Me?" Momo said in surprise.

"Yes. The effect you've had on Toushiro is almost exactly the same as the effect Yuuki had. In fact, that's probably part of why he likes you so much. He undoubtedly loves you every bit as much as he does me. Unfortunately, that is a problem."

"Problem?" Momo said, unsure what she meant. Mayuhorin smirked and walked over to the side of the river to an old pine tree. She stroked the trunk gently.

"When Toushiro lost Yuuki, it completely destroyed him inside. He became completely dependent on me to go on. Then our parents separated, and we weren't able to see eachother anymore. He was probably quite miserable before you met him too. Toushiro shouldn't have to go through that sort of pain again. But when he's around you, it's just like how he was around Yuuki, and…well, let's just say that accidents happen. It only takes the tiniest of things before everything…" Mayuhorin gave the old tree a push, and with a loud crack, it collapsed to the ground, "…comes crashing down."

"What…what are you saying?" Momo said, suddenly extremely nervous. Mayuhorin walked over to her and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. Suddenly, without warning, Mayuhorin shoved Momo over the waterfall. Momo screamed as she fell and landed in the muddy sediment below. She gasped, spitting up water and forcing herself into a sitting position. She looked up at Mayuhorin in shock. Mayuhorin stared coldly at her from above.

"Momo, I'm only going to say this once. Stay away from Toushiro."

* * *

Thanks for reading! Thank you to Merciless Ruby, AznVKai, Kinaia, sma4ever, DW64, SunsetRainbow, Koneko144, animelover24271, and Assault Godzilla for reviewing! Please review!


	11. Chapter 11

Mayuhorin

_Chapter Eleven_

Momo staggered through the forest, making her way towards the house amidst heavy rain and lightning. When she had managed to get out of the stream and climb up onto the bank, Mayuhorin was already gone, leaving her to find her way back alone. She trudged forward painfully, several bruises on her body. She was covered in mud and soaking wet. She shivered as she painfully walked in the direction she thought the house was in. She had already gotten lost several times due to the dark sky and her unfamiliarity with the area. She was so weak and tired that she was sure she would collapse at any moment. She was so weak and exhausted that it felt like she was walking through mud.

All Momo could think about as she miserably walked through the forest was Mayuhorin. She was in complete shock over what happened. She had always thought that Mayuhorin was a nice, if a little bossy, person. She never would have expected such actions from her. Why had she so suddenly done that? Was she angry at her for accidentally hurting her before? She had been forgiving about that for the entire time, and didn't seem at all angry about it. What she had done just seemed completely unlike the Mayuhorin Momo thought she knew. And then there were the things she said about Yuuki…

Momo shivered. The things she said had shaken her to the core. She talked about Yuuki with such a dismissive and detatched manner, one would never think that she was referring to her dead little sister. The things she said and the way she acted…Momo couldn't believe what Mayuhorin was implying. Surely it must have been a lie to intimidate her, Mayuhorin couldn't possibly have done something like _that_, no matter how cruelly she had just treated Momo. Yes, that was it. She had been bluffing to scare Momo away from Toushiro. It was clear to her now that Mayuhorin was even more jealous than she had been, and wanted Toushiro all to herself.

That brought up another problem: how would she tell Toushiro about this? She couldn't just say that his beloved sister, who with his mother's failing health could soon become his only family, had just done what she had. She wanted to tell Toushiro what Mayuhorin had said and done, but couldn't think of a way to do it without seeming like she was trying to malign her unfairly. As far as Toushiro knew, Mayuhorin was the sweet angel of a sister he had always known her as. How could she break that illusion? She wondered if she even should break that illusion. He loved his sister, and it didn't seem right to tear them apart.

But Momo loved Toushiro too. She cared too much about him to not at least inform him about some of the more unpleasant things Mayuhorin had done. If Mayuhorin had done something like that to her, what other things had she done? Was that what she was really like? If it was, how would she prove it to Toushiro? She didn't know how to tell him what had happened. Would he even believe her? She had already shown herself to be jealous of Mayuhorin, would he think she was lying? She had to tell him somehow. She was his friend, and regardless of Mayuhorin's threats, he would remain her friend.

She saw in the distance that she was approaching a road. As she got closer she realized that this was the road that the house was on. She walked along the side of the road in the direction of town, and soon found herself nearing the house. By the time she staggered up to the front door, she could barely move. She was soaked to the bone and shivering. She shakily raised a hand to the doorbell and rung it. The door immediately was thrown open and a worried Toushiro stepped forward.

"Momo! Thank God you're back! We were so worried! What on Earth happened to you?" he said hurriedly, "Come in, don't stay out in the rain."

Momo slowly walked in, Toushiro helping her. She slowly stepped forward, mud from her shoes getting tracked in with her. It was warmer inside, but she was still shivering. Almost as soon as she was inside, she collapsed toher knees, too weak to go on.

"What happened Momo? Why didn't you come back with 'Rin?" Toushiro asked. Momo was about to respond when another voice appeared.

"Yes, tell us what happened! I told you that you should have come home right away!" Mayuhorin said in a worried tone. Momo looked up to her. She flashed a quick smirk at her from behind Toushiro.

"Momo, tell us what happened," Toushiro repeated.

Momo's voice stuck in her throat. She tried to force herself to answer, but couldn't, both as a result of exhaustion and Mayuhorin's presence right in front of her.

"You got lost, didn't you? In your disoriented state you tripped and fell in the mud. That's what happened, wasn't it?" Mayuhorin said. It may have been worded as a question, but the tone made it clear that it was a statement. Toushiro didn't seem to notice due to his concern for Momo, but to Momo it was quite clear.

"Yes…" Momo said with a tiny nod, "That's what happened."

"We need to get you out of these wet clothes and into a warm bath," Toushiro said wiping away some of the water on her face, "Your body is freezing cold."

"I'll help her," Mayuhorin said, gripping Momo's arm and lifting her up, "She won't be able to safely bathe herself while she's in this state. I'll go in with her to help."

Momo felt Mayuhorin leading her towards the bathroom away from Toushiro. She was too weak to resist, and coud only give a whimper of protest as she was taken away.

---

The next few minutes were a blur for Momo. Mayuhorin had undressed her and put her in the bath, filling it with hot water. She stood at the side of the bathtub, rinsing Momo's body with warm water.

To Toushiro, this probably seemed like a friendly gesture with the intent of helping a friend too weak to care for herself, but Momo saw the truth. This was about humiliation. No matter how pleasant the warm water felt on her cold body, she felt nothing but fear, tension, and humiliation. Momo was vulnerable, naked, and still too weak to resist this treatment. She was entirely at Mayuhorin's mercy.

"There now, doesn't this feel good?" Mayuhorin said, pouring water and rubbing her hands against Momo's skin, "Soon you'll be all warmed up and the mud will be gone."

Momo shivered as Mayuhorin's hands went over her bare breasts. She could tell that Mayuhorin took sadistic pleasure in putting her through this suffering. She was intentionally touching her in the ways that would make her most uncomfortable, and Momo was too weak and scared to protest this.

"Why are you doing this to me?" she quietly asked.

"What do you mean? To help wash you off to get you clean and warm! I know you can't do it yourself. Don't be embarassed, we're both girls after all. It's not like this is anything I haven't seen before," she brushed her hand down Momo's bare chest and to her stomach, and then down between her legs. Momo shuddered, tears coming down her eyes.

"Stop that!" she cried, "Don't touch me!" She was weak from her recent ordeal, but she wouldn't just sit by while Mayuhorin sexually violated her.

"I'm only giving you a few little touches to help get your blood vessels flowing. Your body temperature is way down, and by getting the blood to flow more closely to the skin, you'll get warmed up more quickly," Mayuhorin said.

"That's not why you're doing it!" Momo said, "I could wash myself off on my own! You're just doing this so that you can make me suffer."

"Momo, I am hurt by your accusations. I am merely here to help you bathe safely. You're so weak, you'd be putting yourself in danger to do it by yourself. We wouldn't want you to drown in the bath now would we? That wouldn't be much fun. For you at least."

Suddenly Mayuhorin grabbed Momo's hair and forced her face under water. Momo tried to scream, but she couldn't. She tried to get herself above the water, but Mayuhorin held her down, keeping her head bellow the water. She couldn't breathe. She thrashed around in terror, panicking as she ran out of breath. She felt her mind going fuzzy as oxygen was cut off from her brain. Just when she felt like she couldn't last another second, Mayuhorin pulled her up.

"You see? Not fun at all," Mayuhorin said with a sickeningly sweet smile.

Momo coughed and gasped, tears streaming from her eyes. She took in great lungfulls of air as she panted.

"You…you can't get away with this…" she panted, "I'll…I'll tell Toushiro…I'll tell everybody!"

"Oh will you? And you think that they'll believe you? Would Toushiro really believe that his sweet sister Mayuhorin who has never been anything but kind and polite to you would do such things? I have been nothing but kind and generous towards you as far as he knows. You on the other hand have already shown to him that you are a very jealous person. Would he really believe you over me? I think not," Mayuhorin said, "Now, where was I? Oh yes, now I remember!" She placed her hands back on Momo's body, causing Momo to whimper in fear.

---

Momo cried into her pillow. After she had gotten out of the bath, she had run straight to her room, skipping dinner entirely. She lay curled up as she cried, wishing that the past few hours would just go away.

She couldn't believe what happened. She had been physically violated by Mayuhorin. She had been held down and forcibly touched in ways she did not want to be touched. Mayuhorin had done it all to make her suffer. She hadn't done it for sexual gratification, but to humiliate Momo and make her go through as much pain as possible. She sobbed as she thought of the way Mayuhorin had touched her and the…thing she had done to her. Momo felt sick. She felt sick and scared and ashamed. She had essentially just been raped. She had been sexually violated in ways that made her want to scream. She had been too afraid and weak to fight back, and this fact made her even more ashamed. She tried not to think about the horrible ordeal, but found that she was unable to push it from her mind.

What was she going to do? She couldn't tell Toushiro about this. She was too ashamed to tell him, and besides he wouldn't believe her. Mayuhorin was right, he would be much more likely to believe her than Momo. Momo had already shown herself to be jealous, and he would think any accusations she made would be false. Momo was scared. She didn't know what Mayuhorin would do to her next. She had made it quite clear that the more time she spent with Toushiro, the more she would suffer. She couldn't give in. She had to stand up for herself. It was hard though. She was frightened and didn't know what to do.

It was clearer to her now more than ever: Mayuhorin was a monster. She was capable of anything from what Momo had seen of her, and Momo now felt she was in personal danger. If Mayuhorin had shown no qualms about violating and humiliating her, she doubted that she would think twice about injuring her too.

She gulped. She had to tell Toushiro. She dreaded it, but she had to. No matter how scared she was of doing so, she knew there was no other option. She looked at the clock. It was nearly midnight, she had been lying awake for hours. Mayuhorin was probably asleep by now. She would go to Toushiro's room and tell him what had happened. She didn't know if he'd believe her, but she had to try.

Quietly, Momo got out of bed and crept to the door, silently opening it and stepping into the hallway. She stayed still for a moment, trying to steady herself before taking a step in the direction of Toushiro's room.

"What are you doing Momo?"

Momo froze and turned in horror to see Mayuhorin standing right next to her. She had been so nervous that she had not even seen her in the dark hallway.

"I was…just going to get something to eat and drink," Momo said, thinking up a lie quickly.

"Don't worry, I thought you might, so I brought you some food and water," Mayuhorin said, holding up a water bottle and a package of crackers, "I assume this will be enough for you?"

"Y-yes…thank you…" Momo said, taking the water and crackers and slowly retreating into her room, heart pounding in fear.

---

The next morning, Momo woke up to the bright sunshine and the birds chirping, but the bright atmosphere did little to make her feel any better. Mayuhorin was making it quite clear that she would not allow her to talk to Toushiro. Momo knew she had to somehow tell him somehow. Mayuhorin couldn't be allowed to get away with the things she had done. Momo was tempted to sweep them under the rug to spare Toushiro the knowledge of how horrible his sister had become, but knew she couldn't. If it were only her that was suffering, she might be able to bear it, but Mayuhorin had shown herself to be not just a danger to her, but to everyone she came into contact with, including Toushiro.

Momo couldn't understand why she hadn't told him yet. Mayuhorin was younger and shorter than she was, and couldn't stop her from telling Toushiro. Yet every time she thought of it she was filled with fear. There was the worry that Toushiro wouldn't believe her, but beyond that was the fear of Mayuhorin. After what she had done the previous night, Momo knew she would be quite capable of anything.

Momo stood up. She would do it now. She would tell Toushiro the truth. He might not believe her but she had to try. Even if Mayuhorin was there, she would tell him. Mayuhorin wouldn't threaten him in front of Toushiro, and simply telling Toushiro the accusations would eventually help. She knew what she had to do. She walked to the door, out into the hall, and straight downstairs.

"Toushiro, there's something I need to tell you," she announced.

"What's that Momo?" Toushiro asked. Just as Momo was about to speak another voice spoke..

"Yes, what is it Momo?"

Momo looked past Toushiro to see that Mayuhorin was in the kitchen peeling and cutting up an apple with her knife, wearing a friendly smile. Momo was suddenly filled with inexplicable terror. She tried to speak to Toushiro, but found herself unable to with Mayuhorin watching her. Mayuhorin grinned widely.

"I-I um…I needed…needed to-to tell you…" Momo stuttered as she watched Mayuhorin, who was now slowly licking the juice off the knife in a threatening manner.

"What?" Toushiro asked in a slightly annoyed manner.

"I…was just wondering if you'd like to go to the store with me!" Momo said quickly. She internally winced. She had not managed to work up the nerve to tell him, even after she promised herself she would.

"Well, I'm not really in a very social mood right now," Toushiro said, "No offense, but you tend to browse around too much for my tastes. I do agree that we're running short on some types of food though. I'll go to the store next."

"No!" Momo said in a panic. She didn't want to be left alone with Mayuhorin after the things she witnessed.

"Don't take offense, guys just don't like shopping as much as girls," Toushiro said wearily, "I already know your favorite foods, I'll get you whatever it is you want."

"I…I…" Momo stuttered.

"Tell you what, I'll go over to Orihime's place and ask her to come with me. That way I'll get plenty of food for you without having to worry about carrying it. Yes, I think that's the best way," Toushiro said. Momo had never felt more like calling Toushiro an idiot. He may be a genius at school, but he was painfully oblivious to the emotions of others at times. He couldn't even tell that something was very, very wrong with Momo, and that Mayuhorin was acting in a subtly threatening manner.

"Pick me up some tabasco sauce while you're there," Mayuhorin said, "We're nearly out!"

"I thought we already had some of that!" Toushiro said.

"Yeah well, Orihime apparently used it all up," she explained, "Some cucumbers and beef jerkey would be nice too."

"Okay, I'll get that stuff," Toushiro said, "I suppose I'd better get going now."

"Yes, please do," Mayuhorin said with a widening grin.

Momo wanted to scream at him not to go, to stay and protect her from his increasingly cruel and sadistic sister, but she was unable to speak. Toushiro walked out of the house to go get groceries, leaving just Momo and Mayuhorin. After Toushiro was gone, Mayuhorin smiled sweetly at Momo.

"Why don't you take a seat on the couch?" she said. Momo stood where she was.

"I think I'd rather stay where I am, thank you," she said coldly, clenching her fists.

"Now, now, Momo," Mayuhorin said, standing up and walking towards her, "You really should sit down, it's much more comfortable than standing up." There was now an undeniable threatening tone in her voice. Momo stood her ground.

"No," she said defiantly. Mayuhorin calmly strode over to where she was and looked her in the eyes for a second before violently grabbing her hair.

"Please, sit down," Mayuhorin said sweetly, pulling roughly on her hair to force her down onto the couch. Momo grit her teeth and blinked back tears as she was forced onto the couch. Mayuhorin sat next to her, a friendly, relaxed smile look about her.

"So Momo, how have you been doing?" she said innocently.

"Oh, you know, this and that," Momo said dryly, "I just found out that my best friend's sister is a complete sociopath, but other than that, not much has been going on."

"Don't you mean _ex-_best friend?" Mayuhorin said sweetly, "I believe I told you to stay away from Toushiro. It will be difficult to be best friends with someone you're never with."

"I'll never give up Toushiro," Momo growled, "Nothing you do will ever make me leave my friend."

"Don't speak prematurely Momo, I do have my ways," Mayuhorin said slyly. Momo remained silent for a moment.

"Why? Why are you doing this all of a sudden," she asked, "You've always been so nice to Toushiro and I, why are you suddenly acting like this? Just twenty-four hours ago, you were a kind girl who cared for others and was considerate, if a little bossy, and now you're like this. Is this what you're really like? Have you been deceiving us this entire time with that sweet sisterly attitude you put on?"

"That is a very good question, and in all honesty, I don't even know," Mayuhorin said, "I act the way people expect me to. Toushiro expected me to act like a loving sister who is accepting of him and his friends, and Orihime and Ukitake expect me to act like a sweet little girl, so that's how I act in front of them. I act differently depending on who it is that I'm talking to. It's as simple as that."

"Toushiro loves you so much," Momo said, "You're his sister, yet you're deceiving him so mercilessly. Do you even care at all for him? Do you have an ounce of compassion? What would he think if he knew what you were doing?"

"I care about him…I care that he is with me and only me. You not only force me to share him with you, you break my hold on him by making him more assertive and stronger willed. I don't know what it is. You and Yuuki have had the same effect on him, changing him so that he's not in my control. I just don't know how you do it, but I know that I won't let it go any further."

"Toushiro's not stupid, he'll figure out what you're up to eventually," Momo said.

"Oh please. Toushiro is totally submissive to me. He cares too much about me to question me. I completely dominate him, or at least I will as soon as you're out of the picture. It's a shame, I would love very much to have you as mine also, but you're simply too unpredictable. Toushiro though, he's weak-willed enough that I can control him and own him completely."

"Don't talk like that about him!" Momos said angrily, "I know Toushiro! He can be shy and withdrawn at times, but he's a good, strong person. He's always stood up for me, and is a far stronger person than you could ever hope to be."

"You've still got a lot of fight left in you, it looks like you didn't learn your lesson last night," Mayuhorin said quietly, "Don't worry though, I'm willing to reteach you."

Mayuhorin grabbed Momo and pinned her to the couch. Momo wasn't as weak as the night before, and this time fought back, kicking and punching wildly against Mayuhorin. Mayuhorin proved herself to be far stronger than she looked however, and was able to completely prevent Momo from struggling herself free. She held Momo down, her face inches away from Momo's.

"So Momo," she breathed, "What will it be? Do you want to go through last night again?" She suddenly gave Momo a kiss on the lips. Momo recoiled in disgust and tried to throw Mayuhorin off of her, but couldn't manage it.

"What is wrong with you?" Momo yelled, "Why do you try to hurt me like this? Don't you realize what you did to me last night? You raped me! You forcibly touched me and…and…I don't want to have to remind myself of it, but what you did was rape! Don't you understand what you did?"

"Of course I do, I'm getting ready to do it again," Mayuhorin said.

"How can you talk so casually about something so horrible?" Momo yelled.

"Don't take it personally, it's not like I'm attracted to you or anything," Mayuhorin said, "I just know that this is the best way to make you suffer and to subjugate you."

"That's even worse!" Momo yelled.

"You're so strange," Mayuhorin laughed, "Everyone is really. I pushed you over a waterfall and nearly drowned you, yet the thing you're most upset about is my touching you a little bit. That's what's great about sexual things, everyone takes them so seriously, which makes them ever so easy to manipulate to someone who has risen above worry over such petty things."

"So you're saying you don't see anything wrong with what you did to me?" Momo said angrily.

"Nope, it was just a way to dominate you. Sorry if you were hoping for a relationship, but I'm really not attracted to you," she said mockingly, "As I was saying, it is really easy to use that sort of thing to subjugate others. Just look at Rukia! Did you see how submissive she was? Well, until you decided to mess things up for me with your treatment of her. I'll have to go through things all over again now."

"Wait, you did that to Rukia too?" Momo said in horror.

"Of course. It really did a great job, and ended up resulting in some things happening that broke her even further. She had a similar attitude to yours at first, but with a little effort I broke her. You'll end up like that too when I'm through with you."

"You monster; you sick monster!" Momo growled, "You caused Rukia so much pain, and you're trying to replicate that with me? Toushiro-"

"Toushiro will never know about this. I already have plans to make him completely mine. You see, after Mother has died and you have left him, he will become so lonely that he is entirely dependent on me, both emotionally and physically. In his confused state it should be easy to ah…break down his perceptions of what a normal brother-sister relationship is. After molding him to my liking, he will see that I am all that he has. In the end, I will be simultaneously be his sister, friend, and lover. He will look to me for all those roles, and I will of course fulfill them."

"You monster," Momo said angrily, "How could you even think of something so twisted? You plan to force your own brother into sex with you? Are you insane? Do you really think that Toushiro will want to be in an incestuous relationship with you?"

"You underestimate the power of loneliness," Mayuhorin said, "With me as his only family, all the affection that normally would have gone to other family members will be focused on me. With you out of the picture, I will fulfill his need for a friend. And since I will not allow him to ever be with anyone else, I will eventually fulfill his sexual and romantic needs as well. I expect him to feel ashamed and sickened with himself after I first seduce him, but soon enough he will come to consider it normal and his only option. He will be completely dedicated to me and me only."

"I won't let that happen," Momo said, "I'll tell him everything, you won't get away with this any longer."

"You're forgetting that if you told him these things, they'd seem pretty outlandish to him, and he probably still hasn't forgotten about that 'accidental' fall I had and how you 'caused' it. He knows you're jealous, and he'll be looking at any claims you make with great scrutiny. Do you think he'll believe you?"

Momo was unable to come up with a response. She knew that Mayuhorin was correct. Toushiro probably wouldn't believe her if she told him those things. She had to at least try though. Somehow she'd manage it.

"More importandly," Mayuhorin continued, "Do you have any idea what would happen to you if you _did_ try to tell him? Perhaps I could cut off that pretty hair of yours, or better yet, burn it off. Maybe I could throw you out your bedroom window down into the gorge. Maybe I'd give you a drug to force you to throw up and then hold your head in a bucket, making you drown in your own vomit. I could stick pins under your fingernails or force you to hold dry ice or use liquid nitrogen on you until your flesh is literally frozen solid. Pouring boiling water on your face might teach you a lesson as well, as would giving you a few well placed cuts."

Momo was shaking in fear as Mayuhorin described ways of torturing her, but swallowed her fear and spoke.

"I don't care what you threaten me with, I'm not going to leave Toushiro and I'm not letting you get away with the horrible things you've done," she said defiantly. The smile dropped off Mayuhorin's face.

"I see," she said quietly, "I guess I'll just have to give you a lesson right now then." Mayuhorin reached into her pants pocket and pulled out the missing bottle of hot sauce mentioned earlier. Before Momo could react, she splashed a large amount of it into Momo's eyes. She screamed in pain, clawing at her eyes, trying to get it out. Mayuhorin laughed.

"Next time it will be acid. Have a nice day!" she gave Momo a mocking kiss on the cheek before walking away, shrieking in laughter.

Momo staggered off the couch, her eyes watering and burning. She could barely see anything, but somehow made her way into the bathroom, where she immediately began throwing water into her face. The water did little good at first, but after a few minutes the substance causing her eyes to burn and sting was washed away. She blinked repeatedly, her eyes still stinging. She was quite relieved - for a moment she was sure she'd go blind - yet more horrified than ever. Mayuhorin was becoming worse and worse every time she saw her. These latest revelations made made Momo certain that not telling Toushiro wasn't an option. He needed to know. It would hurt him to know the horrible things his sister had done, but he had to know. This was serious. There was a high chance that Mayuhorin would seriously hurt someone, most likely Momo. She'd have to tell Ukitake too, he was the closest thing to an adult they could trust, and the only one Momo could think of who might be able to get Mayuhorin under control.

How would she convince them though? They had all fallen for Mayuhorin's act, and it was unlikely that they would believe what Momo had to say about her. They would just assume she was jealous and making things up, and it would only end up turning them against her. Worse, if she failed to convince them, Mayuhorin would do horrible things to her. She shuddered at the earlier threat to pour acid over her face. There had to be a way to convince them.

Momo suddenly had an idea. _Rukia_! Rukia had been a victim of Mayuhorin's cruelty as well, her testimony could convince Toushiro and Ukitake of the truth, or at least give them cause to further investigate, which would inevitably reveal Mayuhorin for what she was: a complete monster who sought to control and dominate others while inflicting pain on those she could not.

---

Momo banged hard on the door, her heart pounding. She kept looking over her shoulder, half expecting to see mayuhorin following behind her. Momo nervously gave the door another knock, wanting to get in as soon as possible. After a minute, there was a click on the other side and the door opened, revealing Rukia.

"Momo? What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Rukia, I need to talk to you," Momo said urgently.

"Why? Did you want to make some yarn weavings again?" Rukia asked.

"No, this is important," Momo said, "I need to talk to you about Mayuhorin!" Rukia froze.

"Wha-what about her?" she said nervously.

"Please Rukia, this is urgent," Momo said, "I have to talk to you about something." Rukia seemed uncertain but stood aside to let Momo in. Momo locked the door behind them, not knowing if Mayuhorin had followed her.

"What did you want to talk about?" Rukia asked.

"I'm going to get right to the point," Momo said anxiously, "Mayuhorin…she's hurt you, hasn't she?" Rukia froze and shivered. She jerkily shook her head.

"N-no, no she didn't," she said in a fearful tone, as if expecting to get smacked at any moment.

"She did," Momo said insistently.

"No!" Rukia said, closing her eyes tightly and shaking her head violently, "She didn't! She didn't! She didn't!" Tears were coming out of her eyes, causing Momo to sigh and put a hand on her shoulder.

"I know that you're scared of her Rukia, but you have to tell me the truth! If you cover up for her you're just playing right into her hands. I know that she's been hurting you for years, that she did unspeakable things to you!"

"How…how did you know that?" Rukia said in shock.

"Because she just did the same to me," Momo said bitterly, "Please Rukia, I need your help. It's hard to talk about, I know, but tell me what she did to you." Rukia hesitated for a moment but turned around and pulled up the back of her shirt.

Momo nearly screamed at what she saw. Her entire back was covered in gruesome scars, criss-crossing all over eachother.

"She…she did that?" Momo said, more disgusted and horrified than ever. Rukia nodded, tears coming down her cheeks.

"And…and here," she pointed to her chest, "And here." She pointed to her groin. "She…she also beat me and…and she'd put things inside of me until I bled." Rukia broke down completely into tears, sobbing and crying. "D-Daddy eventually noticed…he called the police. B-but Mayuhorin threatened me…I-I don't know why I went along with it, but I couldn't refuse her! I was too scared! She-she made me tell them that Daddy did it. They took him away, and he ended up going to jail and-and got killed in a fight there. It-it's my fault! It's all my-"

Momo silenced Rukia with a hug, tears coming from her own eyes now.

"It's not your fault," she whispered, "Mayuhorin is the one who caused you all this pain. I promise you Rukia, we'll stop her. I won't let her hurt you again. I promise."

* * *

Thanks for reading! Thank you to sma4ever, SunsetRainbow, AznVKai, DW64, Xuco, Kinaia, and Merciless Ruby for reviewing! Please review!


	12. Chapter 12

Mayuhorin

_Chapter 12_

"Rukia, it's time. I just called Ukitake; Orihime too. The more people who hear what we have to say the better. It's all going to be okay Rukia, trust me."

Momo nervously fidgeted with the phone as she spoke to Rukia. Rukia had insisted that Momo arrange everything before coming over to reveal the truth about Mayuhorin. Rukia was clearly terrified, but also seemed eager to reveal the truth. Mayuhorin had caused far too much pain. It was time to put a stop to her madness. Momo held the phone tightly to her ear.

"No, she's not here," Momo spoke again, "Toushiro says she went into town and won't be back for several hours. Toushiro's obviously here, and Ukitake and Orihime will arrive in a short while. You should get ready to come over in about ten minutes, preferably earlier. This is it Rukia, did you gather together all the evidence you have? Good. Between that and our testimony it should be enough to make the truth clear to them, even with Mayuhorin's trickery. I promise you Rukia, I won't let her hurt you anymore. We're going to put a stop to her. Yes…yes I know. Very well then. I'll see you soon. Goodbye."

Momo hung up the phone and took a deep breath. With the evidence she and Rukia planned to show the others, the truth would become clear, yet still Momo felt nervous. She didn't know how she would tell them or how they would react. What would Toushiro say? He'd probably be in denial at first, but he'd have to accept it eventually. Ukitake was a reasonable man; if they were able to prove it he would probably believe them.

Then there was the problem of what would be done with Mayuhorin after she and Rukia told the truth. Would they call the police? That was clearly the obvious choice, but how would they go about it? Just go into the police station and tell them that Mayuhorin had committed horrible crimes and hope that she'd be taken away? Momo wasn't sure where Mayuhorin would be sent. Jail or a juvenile detention center were the most likely candidates, though it was certainly possible that she'd end up in an insane asylum or similar institution given what Momo had seen of her. And what would happen after she was there? It was unlikely that she would be kept in jail for life. She'd be released one day, and when she was it would be highly likely that she'd come after them for revenge.

Momo subconsciously tightened her grip on the screwed off half of a pool stick she held in her hands. She didn't know what Mayuhorin would do next, and she was not taking any chances, but she would not worry so much about the future that there would be doubt in her heart when she told the truth about Mayuhorin, she couldn't allow herself to get distracted. Yes, she would focus on the problem directly at hand. She took a deep breath and paced around the room anxiously.

"Momo?"

Momo gave a yelp of fear, spinning around to see Toushiro standing behind her. She put a hand to her chest, breathing heavily.

"Toushiro! Don't scare me like that!" she said.

"Geez, sorry!" Toushiro said, throwing his hands up in a defensive gesture, "So are you going to tell me what you wanted to meet with me for?"

"Yes, in a bit. Just wait a bit," Momo said.

"What's this all about?" Toushiro asked.

"I'll tell you, just wait a bit!" Momo said.

As she spoke, there was a knock on the door. Toushiro began walking over to answer it, but Momo stuck her arm out in front of him, walking over herself. She raised the stick and edged over to the door.

"Momo, what are you-"

"Shhhhh!" Momo hissed, turning to face the door. "Who's there?!" she shouted.

"It's me!" Orihime's voice said. Momo took a deep breath and opened the door.

"Orihime! I'm glad you're here," Momo said, "Come in, have a seat in the living room!"

Momo guided Orihime in, directing her to one of several chairs she had set up for the occasion.

"Um, thanks, but why did you invite me over here?" Orihime asked.

"I'll tell you in a bit, we need to wait for Ukitake and Rukia to get here," Momo said.

"Ooh, you invited them too? This will be a nice little party won't it?" Orihime said absentmindedly, "Did you invite Mayuhorin?"

"No!" Momo yelled in a sudden panic. Noticing the odd looks Orihime and Toushiro were giving her, Momo cleared her throat and tried to explain herself. "I mean…I think it would be better to just keep this amongst ourselves."

"Okay then…" Toushiro said, clearly suspicious of what was going on. Momo didn't blame him, but she had no time to linger on such thoughts. She looked through the window and saw that Ukitake had just pulled into the driveway. She opened the door despite the fact that he was still in the car, continuing to hold it open as he got out of his car and walked up to the door.

"Good afternoon Momo," he said, "Would you care to tell me what you called me over for?"

"I wouldn't bother asking if I were you," Toushiro said lazily, "She hasn't told either of us what this is about."

"I will! I will!" Momo said hurriedly, "We just need to wait for Rukia."

"Couldn't you at least tell us the general idea of what this is about?" Ukitake asked.

"No! Rukia must be here with me to tell you!" Momo said, "It is imperative. This is a really difficult thing to do for both of us, but we have to tell you."

"Okay Momo, you're starting to be silly," Toushiro said, "It would really make things easier if you at least filled us in a little bit. You can save your main presentation for when Rukia gets here, but at the very least just tell us what this is all about."

"I can't!" Momo said, "Now listen, when Rukia gets here I want you all to be extra nice to her. Be careful not to scare her. This is really tough for her to do, but she is determined to do it. Just try to be encouraging, and don't get angry at her for what she says."

"I'm starting to get really curious what the surprise is," Orihime commented, "When is she coming over?"

"I told her to come over within ten minutes. That was about eight minutes ago. She should be here at any minute, just wait. She'll be here soon."

They didn't speak for several minutes, awaiting Rukia's arrival. Ukitake sat patiently, Orihime fiddled with her hair, and Toushiro sat back with a bored expression. Momo was fidgeting with the pool stick while constantly glancing up at the clock. It was now nearly twenty minutes since Momo had made her call to Rukia, and she was getting worried.

"Momo, it should be clear at this point that she's not going to get here for a while," Toushiro said, "Could you please just tell us whatever it was you had to say now?"

Momo hesitated for a moment before nodding, deciding it would be best to start now. Rukia would surely be here soon, there couldn't be any harm in just telling them the basics.

"Well…it's about Mayuhorin, she-"

Momo was cut off by an ambulance siren in the distance. She immediately went pale.

"Oh no…" she whispered.

"Momo?" Toushiro said, but before he could say anything further Momo had already run down the hall and threw the door open, running outside.

"Momo! Where are you going?"

Momo did not listen to them as they ran behind her, her eyes were wide with horror as she saw the flashing lights of ambulances in the direction of Rukia's house. She broke into a run, heading straight for Rukia's house. When she was nearly at Rukia's house, she arrived at the location of the ambulance. There was an ambulance and a police car, with a local police officer talking to the driver of another car. A twisted bicycle lay on the ground, blood spattered on the pavement near it. There were several orange road blocks to block off the area, but Momo ran straight past them.

"Rukia! Rukia!" she screamed. She was almost immediately blocked by several paramedics.

"You can't be here," one of them said, "Please step back behind the line."

"No! You don't understand! Rukia, she-"

"Is there a problem?" the police officer said, walking over to where Momo was standing.

"What happened here?" Momo said pleadingly, "What happened to Rukia?"

"I'm sorry, but we're still investigating and have to file a report first."

"No, I can tell you exactly what happened," the driver said, a hand over his face as he sat on the hood of his car, "She rode her bike out her drive way. It looked like she was going to slow down and turn so that she would be either behind me or on the other side of the road, I'm not sure which. In any case, she just kept going, and rode straight in front of me. I…I don't know how it happened, it was all so fast." The police officer sighed.

"We did a quick check on the bike, it looks like faulty brakes and an unreliable steering mechanism are to blame," he said, "Now would you please step behind the line, we have a job to do here, and we still have to get her to the hospital." As if on cue, the ambulance began to pull away within moments, turning on its siren and heading for town.

"Listen to me, there' something you have to know! This can't have just been an accident, it must have been-"

"Momo!"

Momo turned to see Toushiro and Ukitake running towards her, finally catching up.

"What's going on? What happened here? Ukitake asked.

"Well sir it appears that-"

"It's Rukia!" Momo screamed, losing her cool, "She's dead! She's dead! She's dead!" She ran screaming back towards the house, with Ukitake and Toushiro again following after her.

"Momo! Calm down, she's not dead!" Ukitake called, "If you just calm down we can talk this over and figure everything out!"

"She's dead! She's dead! She's dead!" Momo screamed.

"Stop it Momo!" Toushiro yelled, "Slow down a moment and take a deep breath, you're just making yourself more upset!"

Momo merely sobbed incoherently as she ran back towards the house in tears. She immediately knew what had happened; there was no doubt in her mind. Mayuhorin was behind this. She knew what she and Rukia were up to and decided to silence Rukia. Was she next? She had to figure something out quick. Despite the urgency of what she knew she needed to do, she could not help but continue to cry. It wasn't fair, she had promised Rukia that she'd keep her safe from Mayuhorin, that everything would be okay. She should have taken Rukia with her when she went home, and should have told Toushiro immediately. Now her plan of exposing Mayuhorin was in jeopardy. She had to try though. If there was the slightest chance of putting a stop to Mayuhorin, she had to take it.

Momo ran as fast as she could towards the house. When she was finally there, she ran straight through the front lawn and through the door. She collapsed on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.

"What's wrong?" Orihime said, kneeling down next to her.

"Rukia…Rukia…" Momo sobbed.

"Rukia was in an accident," Ukitake said, walking in from behind, "Her bike had some problems with the brakes and steering and she veered into a car."

"Oh no…" Orihime said, "That's horrible. I told her that those brakes were going to get her hurt in the past. They were always acting up. The steering too. I can't tell you how many times I've picked her up on the side of the road with a broken bike."

"No! That's not it! It wasn't an accident!" Momo yelled, "I fixed the brakes and the steering already! They work fine, I know it! Don't you see? This isn't an accident! It was _her_! She killed her! I know it!"

"What are you talking about?" Toushiro asked.

"It wasn't an accident, this was all arranged to kill Rukia! It was-"

"What's with all the yelling?"

Momo looked up and saw Mayuhorin standing in the hall nonchalantly. Momo became instantly filled with rage, and picked up the pool stick and flew to her feet.

"YOU!!! It was you!!!" Momo screamed, running at Mayuhorin in rage. Mayuhorin did not even attempt to defend herself as Momo swung the pool stick as hard as she could, hitting her across the chest and knocking her over. She raised the pool stick to strike again, but both Ukitake and Toushiro grabbed her and pulled her away.

"What the hell is wrong with you Momo?!!" Toushiro yelled. Momo didn't reply, her eyes wide as she struggled to get at Mayuhorin, who was now crying on the ground.

"Momo! Calm down!" Ukitake ordered, for the first time his voice actually sounding angry, "Stop this immediately!"

"It was her!" Momo screamed, "She did it! She killed Rukia!"

"That's ridiculous!" Toushiro said, "Why would she want to do that?"

"Because we were going to tell the truth! She knew that, so she planned to silence us!" Momo yelled, still swinging the stick wildly, forcing Ukitake to wrench it from her hands.

"What truth? What are you talking about?" Ukitake asked.

"The truth about her!" Momo screamed, "You don't know what she is! You don't know what she's really like! She's evil! A complete monster! She's done countless horrible and sick things! She's been manipulating you this whole time to get you away from me! She's been playing with your head to make you totally loyal to her!"

"Momo, that's ridiculous! Mayuhorin's been very kind to you, and even encouraged me to spend more time with you and to forgive you for your earlier actions!" Toushiro said, "You're being paranoid and delusional."

"No! It's not just that, she's done horrible things! Her psychological manipulation is just the beginning of the horrible things she's done!" Momo yelled, wide eyed and shaking, "The other day she pushed me over a waterfall, that's why I was late coming home and covered in mud! And then she threatened me and-and-and sexually assaulted me in the bathtub and tried to drown me! She poured hot sauce in my eyes as a threat and said she'd put acid on my face next! It's all true! And Rukia, Rukia's suffered too! Mayuhorin's been torturing her and raping her for years! She-she threatened her and got her dad arrested for the crimes she committed! She's insane, a maniac! She gets pleasure from controlling others and causing them pain! That's why she wants me out of the way, so she can control Toushiro! She wants me out of the way so-so she can have sex with Toushiro! It's all part of her plan! She's a sadistic monster who will do anything to control and inflict pain! You have to believe me!"

"Shut up!" Toushiro yelled angrily, "Just shut up! I've had it with your ridiculous lies! I've tried to be accommodating, and even forgave you for what you did to her before, but this is unforgivable! How dare you attack my sister and come up with such lies? Did you even listen to what you were saying? Tortured Rukia? Wants to have sex with me? Have you gone completely mad? Are you so jealous and spiteful that you would make up such insane lies to try to keep me away from my sister? I trusted you Momo! Look at what you're doing! How could you do this to me, after everything I've done?"

"But Toushiro, it's all true! I know it sounds crazy, that's why I tried to have Rukia come over, so we could both testify and give you the evidence! That's why Mayuhorin tried to have her killed! She's a monster! A demon! You have to believe me Toushiro!"

Suddenly there was a whimper on the ground, and Mayuhorin sat up, crying and clutching her chest where Momo had hit her.

"Why Momo?" she asked, tears falling down her cheeks, "I just wanted to be your friend! This whole time I just wanted to be your friend. Why are you always so mean to me? Why?" Toushiro let go of Momo and went over to hug Mayuhorin.

"I'm sorry 'Rin, this is all my fault," he said, "I should have paid more attention to what she was capable of. I promise that I won't let Momo hurt you again."

"Toushiro, listen to me, it's a trick! Didn't you see that she didn't even try to dodge? This is just a ploy to gain sympathy; she's manipulating you right now! She wants you all to herself! She wants to be your sole family, friend, and lover!" Momo yelled. Toushiro glared at her angrily.

"Momo, I'd like to think you were just confused, and Rukia's accident may very well have unhinged you, but I don't think that's what this is about. You hurt 'Rin twice now, and are making up lies to try to tear us apart. It's obvious that you care more about having me to yourself than about my own well-being."

"No! That's her! She's the one who wants you all to herself! I was a bit jealous, yes, but I didn't want anything like that! Don't you realize how much you're going to get hurt too? She's going to manipulate you so that you never have another friend and ensure that you'll never fall in love with anybody but her!"

"You have a really sick imagination Momo," Toushiro said, "I honestly don't know what to believe about you. You're acting completely mad, and are being needlessly cruel to my sister. I never would have expected this from you. I want to be your friend so badly Momo, I want to be able to trust you…but how can I when you act like this? I'm sorry Momo. Consider our friendship over."

Momo's eyes widened and she began shaking, tears flowing down her cheeks.

"No… No! Noooooo!" she screamed, "Toushiro! Toushiro you have to listen to me! Please! Our friendship means everything to me! That's why she's trying to take it away! Please Toushiro, you must trust me on this, it's all part of her plan!"

"Why should I trust someone who's not even my friend," Toushiro said coldly.

"Toushiro! Don't leave me like this!" Momo screamed, breathing heavily. She looked at Mayuhorin, "This can't happen! I won't let you take Toushiro away from me!" Momo wrenched herself out of Ukitake's grip and lunged at Mayuhorin. She was able to slam her to the ground with the momentum from this, and began punching her repeatedly with all of her strength. Just as soon as she had begun however, a punch collided with her face, knocking her back. Momo looked up in shock to see Toushiro standing above her, his fist clenched. Momo nearly broke down in tears. Toushiro had _never_ hit her before. He had always been gentle and protective towards her.

"T-Toushiro…" she whispered, tears rolling down her cheek as her eye began turning dark. Ukitake used the opportunity to restrain her, preventing her from any further attacks. Momo watched as Toushiro knelt down to Mayuhorin, helping her up. Momo could have sworn that Mayuhorin had flashed a quick smirk at her, but through her swollen eye she couldn't be sure.

"Momo, I repeat myself: I am no longer your friend. You're just a person who attacked my sister, and I promise you that if you do it again I will repay any injuries you give her five-fold."

Toushiro gave her a glare so cold that it made Momo feel as if her insides had frozen. She broke down in tears as he walked away with Mayuhorin, leaving his former friend behind.

* * *

Thanks for reading! Thank you to AznVKai, sma4ever, Merciless Ruby, Loverboywithbadluck, DW64, and Kinaia for reviewing! Please review!


	13. Chapter 13

Mayuhorin

_Chapter 13_

Thunder cracked in the distance as Momo paced around her room anxiously. They didn't believe her. Rukia was injured, maybe dead, and wouldn't be able to back them up. Toushiro no longer considered her a friend, and wouldn't want anything to do with her. She suppressed a sob. They all hated her now. She had been in such a rage, that she hadn't thought of what her attacking Mayuhorin would look like. She tenderly touched the black eye Toushiro had given her, which was now more of a purplish green than black. She couldn't believe that he had actually hit her. She didn't blame him though. This was all because of Mayuhorin. She had arranged everything to alienate her from the others. Now none would believe her. Even Orihime and Ukitake distrusted her now. She was all alone, and now had to face Mayuhorin on her own.

She shivered as she recalled what Mayuhorin had said about pouring acid in her eyes in she ever told anyone. Momo had no doubt that Mayuhorin would a thing like that, and probably something far worse. Momo feared for her very life. She wouldn't put anything past Mayuhorin, even murder. She had already proven herself capable of it with Rukia, regardless of whether or not is had been successful. She had to think of something. How could she stop Mayuhorin? She had turned everyone against Momo, nearly killed the one person who could possibly provide evidence to Momo's claims, and essentially blocked off nearly all potential actions.

Momo looked at the door to her room that separated her from Toushiro and the others. If she left this room, all eyes would be on her. Toushiro, Orihime, and Ukitake would treat her with suspicion, and probably would expect her to lash out at any moment, while Mayuhorin would actively attempt to sabotage anything she did. There was literally nothing that Momo could do in the house that would not result in her digging herself into even deeper trouble.

As she thought this, something clicked in her head, giving her an idea. She couldn't believe she hadn't thought of it before. She ran over to the window and opened it, sticking her head out. The ground was about fifteen or twenty feet below, and the ground directly below her window was out of sight from the downstairs windows. She hurriedly rummaged through the bags in which she carried all of her possessions, taking out several items and stashing them away into a pack. Working quickly, she tied together a group of sheets and blankets, forming a makeshift rope.

She tied the rope to her bedframe, tugging on it to make sure that it was secure, before running over to make sure the door was locked. She propped a chair up behind the doorknob for extra blockage. The longer it took them to figure out she was gone, the better. Her actions were drastic, but she felt she had no choice. She had to stop Mayuhorin, and would do everything in her power to succeed, even something like this.

She put the pack around her shoulder and gripped the rope, slowly getting out the window. She felt dizzy as she looked down, hoping dearly that the rope held together. She nervously began to climb down the rope. It wasn't a particularly far distance, but it felt like forever. Just when she had nearly reached the bottom, the rope suddenly gave way, dropping her the last several feet.

Momo groaned, rubbing her side gently as she got up. She looked at the rope of tied of bed sheets and shrugged after a moment's contemplation. At least this way she could hide the evidence of her escape. She wadded up the sheets and stuffed them away in her bag. She'd have to be careful not to attract attention to herself.

The sky was dark grey out and looked as if it were about to rain. It had already been raining heavily for several days, and Momo had to be careful to step in places that wouldn't leave footprints. She hurried off in the direction of town. Before anything else, she knew she had to check on Rukia.

---

Toushiro punched his pillow angrily. He couldn't believe what Momo had done. He felt completely betrayed. He had thought that Momo had gotten over her jealousy, but it was evidently worse than ever. This was different from last time. It wasn't just a prank gone wrong, Momo had physically attacked Mayuhorin. That was unforgivable to Toushiro. As much as he had always protected and care for her, he could not remain friends with someone who would attack his own sister like that. Mayuhorin had always been kind to Momo, yet out of her jealousy she attacked her and spouted off a bunch of absurd lies about her. It was simply beyond his ability to forgive something like that.

He didn't know what had come over Momo. Rukia's injury left her highly emotional, but to go to those lengths was simply unbelievable. Momo had always been kind and gentle, so to see her go berserk on Mayuhorin like that was nearly unbelievable. He never would have thought her capable of it. He'd already forgiven her once for hurting his sister, he couldn't do it again. He sighed. He thought of all the years he and Momo spent together, of the strength of their friendship. The idea of it being over was horrible, but he could no longer trust Momo. She had attacked his sister. His mother wasn't as bad as she had been before, but there was still a high chance that she would die, leaving Mayuhorin his only real family. For Momo to attack her was something their friendship could not survive.

His heart was torn in two. He really did care about Momo, he always wanted to look out for her and keep her safe and happy, but how did she repay him? She hurt his sister. He had no choice but to throw aside the part of his heart that cared for Momo, it was all he could do right now. It seemed that Mayuhorin was the only person he could rely on right now.

Despite the sense of betrayal and anger though, he could not help but be curious about what caused Momo's behavior. He knew she was jealous, but didn't realize she was jealous enough to actually hurt Mayuhorin. Rukia's accident probably destabilized her, but her outburst was still odd. Particularly bothering Toushiro were the things she said (or rather, screamed). They were highly disturbing, not to mention absurd, accusations, and they had to be false. He simply couldn't believe such ridiculous claims, especially when they were made about someone he knew so well. They were false, they had to be. And yet…there was that lingering bit of suspicion.

He groaned and stood up, looking out at the dark grey sky. It was going to rain soon, and he didn't want to go out at a time like this, but he felt he had no choice. He had to get to the bottom of all this somehow, and there was only one way to do that.

---

"Please!" Momo begged, "You don't understand, I'm her friend, I have to see her!"

"I'm afraid that I can only let family in right now," the nurse said. Momo stood at the desk of the clinic where Rukia was being treated for her injuries, arguing with the receptionist and a nurse.

"I know, but you don't understand! I _have_ to see her!" Momo insisted.

"And I've already told you, I can't let you right now. She just got done with surgery for a broken hip and femur, she is in no condition to be seeing anyone right now," The receptionist said, "Now are you going to cooperate and leave or are we going to have to call security?" Momo stood where she was for a moment before turning around and stomping out of the hospital lobby.

She was upset that she could not see Rukia, but this only meant that she had to hurry up with her plans. She immediately walked over to the diner where she and Toushiro would drink milkshakes back in happier times. She clenched her fists as she thought of him and what Mayuhorin planned to do. She wouldn't allow it to happen. She wouldn't let Mayuhorin dominate Toushiro's life and make him completely dependent on her. If nothing was done, Toushiro would end up getting hurt. He may not consider her his friend anymore, but she still thought of him as her friend, and she would do everything she could to protect him.

She got out several pieces of paper and scribbled down notes on them. She finished them quickly, knowing that if she continued she wouldn't be able to keep herself from completely breaking down into tears. She looked outside, and saw that it had begun to rain. She took a deep breath. This was it.

---

Momo walked slowly through the forest, her clothes soaked from the rain, now practically downpouring. Between the cover of the trees and the dark sky, it was nearly completely dark, with almost no light to see by. Momo shivered, wringing out her soaked T-shirt even though she knew it would do no good. She was shivering and her feet were sore from walking in water soaked shoes but she continued to march forward, knowing that she had to do this. The ground beneath her feet had turned muddy, and she had to constantly pull her feet out of the mud.

She didn't stop despite the difficulties. This was for Toushiro. Even if he would never know what she was doing for him and continued to hate her for the rest of his life, it would be worth it. She would save Toushiro from his sister, no matter what the cost.

Momo abruptly stopped walking through the darkened forest.

"Mayuhorin, I know you're there! Come out!" she yelled over the loud noise of the rain.

"Oh, so you figured out I was following you! Well done, very well done!" Mayuhorin's said from behind her. Momo clenched her fists and continued to stare straight ahead.

"I didn't figure it out at all, I knew from the start that you'd follow me," Momo said tensely.

"I see," Mayuhorin said, walking up behind Momo until she was directly behind her, "And why did you come out here then?"

"Because I'm going to stop you," Momo said through gritted teeth. She suddenly pulled out her pocket knife and stabbed at Mayuhorin's face. Mayuhorin easily dodged it and before Momo even had another chance, grabbed her wrist and twisted it around her back, simultaneously slamming Momo's face into the muddy ground.

"How silly of you Momo, trying a stunt like that. Surely you didn't think you could get away from me? I believe I already told you what would happen if you told anyone the things we discussed," Mayuhorin said sweetly, "Now I'm afraid that I'm going to have to do some unpleasant things to you."

Mayuhorin pulled out her large knife, opening the folding blade with a flick of her wrist. It was much bigger than Momo's small knife. She held it against Momo's throat and pulled her up by the hair.

"Now I think I'd like to take a little walk, won't you join me Momo?" Mayuhorin asked sweetly. Momo gulped as she felt the cold blade pressed against her throat but didn't show any fear. Mayuhorin pushed her forward, making her walk. Momo did not resist, walking through the dark forest with Mayuhorin without struggle.

"So I suppose you're going to kill me?" she asked quietly.

"Oh, maybe later," Mayuhorin said with a small laugh, "I think I'd like to have a bit of fun with you first though.

"You're not going to get away with this," Momo said as she was led through the forest, "People are going to find out, including Toushiro."

"Oh, I don't think so," Mayuhorin said, "You recall that river I showed you before? It was nice and calm then, but whenever it rains, the river swells up and gets really fast. If you go through that not only will you be smashed beyond recognition, you'll be washed up in such a remote spot that nobody will find you for weeks, maybe months. By the time they find you, you'll be so badly decomposed that even Toushiro won't be able to recognize you. Assuming they find you at all that is. Scavengers will probably have a good time once they find your corpse, and after they're done gnawing off all your flesh, they'll probably take your bones back to their den. How does that make you feel Momo? Knowing that you're going to be left to rot and then end up in the bellies of scavenging animals? Not a pleasant thought, is it?"

"I'm not afraid of you," Momo said, not letting Mayuhorin's horrible words frighten her.

"Oh? Are you sure? I have a lot in plan for you, and it's not going to be enjoyable. First I was thinking of stripping all your clothes off; that will really drive in the fact that you're powerless before me. I'll probably be tempted to put a sharp stick inside you and twist it around a bit, but I think it's best to save that for later," Mayuhorin said, a sadistic smile on her face, "Now what will I do first? I think smashing your legs will be a good start. That should at least stop you from running away. After that, I'm thinking that I'll break your fingers one by one, and then the real fun begins. You're a pretty girl Momo, so sweet and delicate…I think I'd very much enjoy destroying it. I could probably cut off your breasts right away without worrying of you bleeding to death. There's the old stick method I mentioned before too, though I might use the knife for the same purpose. After that, I'll go for your face. Too bad it's raining, I originally planned to pour gas on your face and set it alight, but I guess I'll just have to settle for gouging out your eyes and cutting off your lips and ears. After that I'll just have fun beating you and stabbing you until you die. You're probably hoping that I do it as fast as possible, but keep in mind that the human body is surprisingly durable. I'd say we're in for _hours_ of fun."

"I'm not afraid of you," Momo repeated firmly, "And you're not going to get away with this."

"What makes you say that?" Mayuhorin asked, continuing to lead Momo through the forest.

"Because I already told Toushiro, you were there, remember?" Momo said, "If I go missing, do you think he won't put two and two together? Toushiro's smart enough to figure it out."

"You're forgetting how easy it is for me to control Toushiro. It should be easy enough to convince him that you just committed suicide or had an accident or something," Mayuhorin said.

"You underestimate Toushiro. He's smart. If you think you can fool him like this, then evidently I know much more about Toushiro than you."

This caused Mayuhorin to stop, suddenly very tense.

"What did you say?" she asked quietly.

"You heard me: You don't know Toushiro as well as you think you do. I've been around Toushiro for just as long as you have, and unlike you I actually cared enough about him to understand him. You don't know Toushiro the way I do, and that's why I've won today," Momo said.

"Won? You think you've won this?!" Mayuhorin said angrily, turning Momo around and slamming her against a nearby tree. Momo looked calmly into Mayuhorin's eyes, the normally cool-headed girl's face contorted in rage.

"Yes, I've won and you've lost. It's as good as over," Momo said. Mayuhorin shook in rage.

"Over is it? Maybe _this_ will change your mind!" Mayuhorin swung her fist at Momo. Momo expected to feel her fist collide with her stomach, but it didn't. Instead, she felt a sharp pain in her gut. She looked down and saw that Mayuhorin had plunged the knife deep into her stomach. She felt dizzy as she looked at the knife protruding from her, and collapsed to her knees moments later. Mayuhorin laughed and pulled out the blood covered knife, licking Momo's blood off of it.

"You think you've won? How can you possibly hope to survive this? Face it, you've lost!" Mayuhorin laughed.

"No," Momo said, "I still won."

"Idiot, perhaps I didn't make it clear enough: You are going to die!"

"I know," Momo said quietly, clutching the stab wound, "I knew when I came into this forest that I was probably going to die. My death is what will cause you to lose."

"What? How do you figure that?"

"I've planned everything out. I left plenty of clues. I mailed letters to everyone involved, explaining what has happened and what I was planning. That includes Toushiro, Ukitake, your father, and for good measure, the police. I included evidence I found at Rukia's house. But that's not what will be the final nail in your coffin. The mechanism for your downfall will be the same person you've been planning to control. Toushiro…he'll find out about you. I know you're going to kill me, but it won't be in vain. The time you're taking to kill me is time Toushiro can use to figure out the truth, and my death will drive him even further. You're finished Mayuhorin, Toushiro will discover the truth and reveal it to everybody."

"I already told you, Toushiro is like putty in my hands," Mayuhorin retorted, "He will loyally cling to me and never let go. Nothing you do can change things."

"And I've told you before, Toushiro is smarter than you think. He'll figure everything out, I've left him everything he needs to do so. I may die, but in the end, Toushiro will find out about you. I believe in him, I know he can do it."

---

"Yes, I'm feeling much better, thank you," Rukia said from her hospital bed, thanking the nurse who had just brought her an ice cream. The nurse nodded and walked out. Rukia sighed, and was about to take a bite of the strawberry ice cream when the door opened again. Expecting the nurse again, Rukia looked up, and nearly dropped the ice cream when she saw who it really was.

Toushiro stood before her, his face dead serious. He walked slowly over to the side of her bed as Rukia stared at him.

"T-Toushiro? How did you get in?"

"I snuck in, but that's not important right now," Toushiro said, "I'd like to ask you some questions. I want the truth about what's really been happening all this time."

* * *

Thanks for reading! Thank you to Merciless Ruby, DW64, Xuco, and AznVKai for reviewing! Please review!


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Thanks to Koneko144, DW64, AznVKai, Merciless Ruby, and Kinaia for reviewing last chapter! Remember to review after you finish reading this chapter! Enjoy!

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Mayuhorin

_Chapter Fourteen_

Momo glared up at Mayuhorin, panting as she clutched the stab wound on her stomach. It was deep, but luckily it didn't seem to have punctured any vital organs. Of course the lethality of just that wound didn't matter seeing as Mayuhorin would kill her in the end anyways. Mayuhorin looked down at her with a twisted smile.

"You really believe that?" she asked quietly, "You think you know Toushiro better than his own sister?"

"I do. You may be his biological sister, but you haven't been a very good one. You've only ever cared about having Toushiro to yourself and how to control and manipulate him. Have you ever once tried to get to know and understand Toushiro? I doubt it, you were more interested in turning him into something you could control more easily. Face it, you don't know the real Toushiro at all. I do know him, which is why I have faith that he will discover the truth. I only wish I could live to see the expression on your face when he helps to reveal the truth to everyone!"

Mayuhorin responded with a kick to Momo's face, and then leaned down to her.

"And I wish that he could see your face when I'm through with it," she whispered, "You're acting tough now, but rest assured, I will break you. It's only a matter of time."

"My resolve will not waiver, no matter what you do," Momo said defiantly, shakily standing up, "I already know my fate, and nothing you do or say will make me fear it."

Mayuhorin punched her in the stomach. Momo winced as her fist collided with her stab wound. She clutched the wound in pain. Even though it had not punctured any organs, it was still pretty deep, and was bleeding badly. She began to stand up only for Mayuhorin to knock her down again.

"You will stay down," Mayuhorin ordered. Momo glared up at her.

"No," She said, getting to her knees and preparing to stand up. Before she could however, Mayuhorin grabbed her by the shirt and slammed her against a tree. She moved her face closer until it was mere inches from Momo's.

"When I tell you to stay down, you stay down." Her eyes were wide, and when combined with her rain soaked hair and clothes, gave her quite a mad appearance. Momo glared back.

"No, I will not stay down," she said quietly. Mayuhorin turned her around so that she was now facing the tree.

"Perhaps I have not made it clear enough to you. You are powerless before me and are completely at my mercy. I suppose I'll have to drive that point home." Momo felt the blade of the knife pressed against the back of her neck and flinched, but instead of the blade cutting into her neck, it was drawn down, slicing through her soaked shirt.

Momo did not struggle. She would continue defying Mayuhorin's orders, but she would not struggle. That's what Mayuhorin wanted, to see her struggling for her life in fear. She would not play along. Her death was inevitable at this point, as was the torture and humiliation she was sure to face. She would not let Mayuhorin take satisfaction in it.

Mayuhorin peeled off Momo's shirt, leaving her shivering in nothing but her bra. Mayuhorin threw her to the ground delivering a kick to her side. Momo groaned in pain, but still she did not submit to Mayuhorin. She rolled over and slowly began to push herself out. Mayuhorin growled from behind her, and grabbed her by the hair and yanked it up.

"You bitch, you still try to defy me?" she asked, "By the time I'm through with you, you won't even be recognizable." Momo heard a slicing sound, and moments later she fell to the ground. She looked up and saw her hair falling down next to her. She felt the back of her head, and realized that Mayuhorin had cut away large portions of her hair.

"I can cut it all away if that's what you want," Mayuhorin said. Momo shifted, and began getting ready to stand up. Mayuhorin stomped on her back before she could even get off the ground. She grabbed Momo's hair and began slashing and hacking at it, cutting it roughly until her hair was short and uneven.

Momo breathed heavily. She didn't know if she could keep this up much longer. Part of her just wanted to lie down and allow Mayuhorin to torture her without protest. It would be easier for her. But if she did that, Mayuhorin would win; she would have gotten Momo to submit to her. Momo wouldn't give her that satisfaction. She tried to stand up, and yet again was knocked down.

"Idiot," Mayuhorin growled. She kicked Momo hard in the side, "I'm going to break you. Before you breathe your last breath, I will have you beg me for mercy."

"No," Momo gasped, "You're wrong. You're underestimating me just like you are Toushiro. You'll find yourself quite surprised by the end of this." She again stood up, shakily getting to her feet. This time Mayuhorin did not knock her down, but slashed her across her bare stomach. Momo keeled over, putting a hand over the wound. It was shallow but hurt badly. The rain made the blood run down her stomach. Despite this, she still remained standing.

"You're not giving up easily," Mayuhorin noted, "Oh well, I have plenty of time." She grabbed Momo by the ear, and with a downward slash of her knife, cut it nearly in half. Momo screamed, falling to her knees and clasping a hand to her ear. A massive portion of her ear was now connected to the rest of her head by only a small bit of skin and cartilage. While she was kneeling down in pain, Mayuhorin brought the knife down again. Momo gave a cry of pain as the knife pierced her chest. It didn't go in very deep, as it hit a rib that blocked it from going in deeper, but it hurt badly.

"Like I said, I'm going to make you beg," Mayuhorin said, twisting the knife around in Momo's chest, scraping the tip against the bone, "Now let me hear you beg a little and I might be kind enough to kill you quickly." She put a hand on Momo's stomach, scraping her nails against the wounds inflicted by her knife. Momo whimpered in pain but did not beg. Mayuhorin stabbed Momo in the thigh. Momo gave a tiny cry but still did not beg. Growling, Mayuhorin grabbed Momo by the throat and violently shook her, squeezing her throat tightly.

"Beg! BEG!!!" she shouted. Momo struggled for breath as Mayuhorin gripped her around the throat, her head hurting as it was deprived of oxygen. Momo instinctively clawed at Mayuhorin's hands, but she did not let go. Just when Momo felt as if she was about to pass out, Mayuhorin let go, leaving her gasping for breath. Mayuhorin suddenly slammed herself against Momo, pinning her to the ground.

"You're not going to beg?" Mayuhorin asked. She bent down and kissed Momo. Momo recoiled in disgust, but couldn't get away. Mayuhorin bit Momo's lip hard, drawing blood. Momo wrenched herself away, causing Mayuhorin to laugh.

"It looks like you won't beg," Mayuhorin said.

"No…I won't," Momo said, "You're sick. You're beyond sick. You're a complete monster. I'm not giving you the satisfaction of seeing me beg."

Mayuhorin tilted her head to the side a little, looking at Momo innocently.

"You know, you have a really pretty face Momo," she said quietly. She slowly brought the knife up to Momo's face, moving the flat side of it across Momo's cheek, "Perhaps I should cut it up."

"Stop this!"

Momo and Mayuhorin both turned around in surprise. Toushiro stood behind them in a rain coat, staring in shock at the scene before him.

"Oh, hello Toushiro," Mayuhorin said sweetly, "What a surprise it is to see you out here."

Toushiro walked forward and immediately pushed Mayuhorin off of Momo, staring in horror at her multiple wounds and mangled ear. He took off his coat and put it onto Momo, embracing her gently.

"I'm sorry I didn't believe you before," he whispered. He turned to face Mayuhorin, glaring angrily at his twin sister.

"It's good that you came Toushiro, I was just saving Momo. She was in such a frenzy that she ended up hurting herself really-"

"Enough!" Toushiro yelled, "I've had enough of your lies Mayuhorin!" Mayuhorin frowned. That was the first time in many years she had heard him call her by her full name instead of simply 'Rin.

"Toushiro, I have no idea-"

"No! No more! No more lies!" Toushiro said, "I know the truth. I talked to Rukia and between what she said, what Momo said, and the circumstances, the truth is very clear to me. I know that you've been hurting Rukia and Momo. I wish I had seen it before. You…you're not the sister I thought I knew."

"The sister you thought you knew was a result of your own stupidity and wishful imagination," Mayuhorin said, "You saw in me what you wanted to see in me, it's as simple as that. It made you easier to control of course, which is why I have long encouraged it in you."

"There's just one thing I have to ask you," Toushiro said, "When Rukia revealed all the horrible things you've done to her and Momo, I didn't want to believe it, but found that I had no choice but to accept it. This is different though, this I simply cannot believe. I don't know if you're going to tell the truth, but I have to ask."

"Oh?" said Mayuhorin quietly. Toushiro stared her directly in the eyes.

"Mayuhorin…'Rin…Did you kill Yuuki?"

Mayuhorin remained expressionless for a moment, but then a wicked smile crossed her face.

"And what if I did?"


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Thank you to AznVKai, Merciless Ruby, DW64, SunsetRainbow, Konekko144, and Kinaia for reviewing! This chapter is the climax of the story, so be sure to review after you read it!

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Mayuhorin

_Chapter 15_

"So…so it's true then…" Toushiro said, his voice shaking, "You killed her… You killed her!"

"And what of it?" Mayuhorin asked coldly. Toushiro's stared at Mayuhorin in shock and horror.

"What of it? You…you killed Yuuki… Our baby sister…you killed her!" Toushiro yelled, tears mixing with the rain on his face, "Yuuki was our little sister and you murdered her, how can you act so calm?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Mayuhorin asked. Toushiro shook in shock and anguish, and it was several minutes before he was able to speak again.

"Why 'Rin? Why did you do it?" he asked.

"Why? Because she was in my way," Mayuhorin said simply.

"How can you say that?!" Toushiro yelled, "She never did anything to harm you! You killed her in cold blood! Yuuki was the sweetest, most innocent girl on earth. I can think of no one else as pure as she was."

"I know, that's why I had to get rid of her," Mayuhorin said, "She was taking you away from me. You spent more and more time with her, and left me with nothing."

"That's not true!" Toushiro said angrily, "I still spent most of my time with you! I spent time with Yuuki, but I never abandoned you. I still played with you and talked to you all the time!"

"It wasn't enough. I needed to have you completely to myself whenever I needed you. It's the same with her," Mayuhorin pointed at Momo, "They both kept us from being together at all times, so they both had to be eliminated."

"I'm not letting you hurt Momo any more," Toushiro growled, "And if you think I'm going to still be with you after this, you're mistaken!" Mayuhorin laughed.

"Oh Toushiro, how naïve of you. I'm going to have you all to myself, I must. That's why I eliminated Yuuki and prevented you from making other friends, as well as why I'm now going to eliminate Momo. We're going to be together, I won't accept anything less."

"You're sick," Toushiro said, "I can't believe this. I never would have imagined that this is what you're really like. You hurt others for fun and you killed your own sister. You're inhuman. Do you even care for me, or do you just want me to yourself because you're possessive and controlling?"

Mayuhorin began laughing. She threw her head back in maniacal laughter, leaning forward and clutching her chest. When she lifted her head back up however, she was sobbing.

"Toushiro…of course I care! But you left me no choice!" she said, her eyes wide. She stumbled forward and grabbed Toushiro by the shoulders. "Don't you see? I had to adopt that façade to keep you with me and others away! I need you Toushiro! I love you! But you kept on making other friends and spending more time with Yuuki! I had to start acting differently so that I stood a chance!"

"You could have just talked to me!" Toushiro said, "I would have listened! Besides, I did spend time with you, I already told you!" Toushiro tried backing away, but Mayuhorin held onto him, a manic smile on her face.

"No, I had to have you completely to myself! I had to change myself to keep my hold on you! Don't you see? I literally need you! I need you with me always! When you were around, the voices and the bad thoughts went away! But when you went off with Yuuki or your other friends, they came back! I had to do something, you left me no other choice!"

"Listen, I don't know what you're talking about but whatever it is it's no excuse for what you've done!" Toushiro said, "You've hurt so many people. You killed Yuuki! You tortured Rukia and Momo! It's clear to me that you've become sadistic and twisted, nothing like the sister I once knew!"

"Please Toushiro!" Mayuhorin begged, her tone becoming more and more crazed, "I had to do those things, it…it made me feel completed! The same way as when I was with you! When I was hurting others and manipulating people, I didn't like it at first, but it made me feel in control of myself! By controlling others, I felt like I was in control of myself! I didn't like it at first, but then I began changing myself so that I did! I made a new Mayuhorin, the one you met recently! She was able to do anything all while calm and cool! She was able to ignore the bad thoughts, but she still wanted to hurt people! I don't like it but it's the only way! Yes, it's just a fact that must be accepted!"

"You're not making any sense at all," Toushiro said, "You've gone completely mad!"

"No! Toushiro, please! Come with me, I'll do anything for you, just please stay with me forever! I even promise I won't hurt Momo anymore if you agree never to see her again, just stay with me and all the bad thoughts will go away forever! It will be just us! I'll be your sole family, friend, and lover! Just us! Together forever! I'm willing to do anything! I want to care for you, have fun with you, feed you, live with you, love you, and have children with you! Our relationship is like none other on earth! We're all eachother ever needs! It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks, it will just be us!"

"Stop it!" Toushiro yelled, pushing Mayuhorin away, "Listen 'Rin, you have to stop! It's not too late! I know you're confused, but I can get you help! There's help out there for you!"

Mayuhorin suddenly dropped the manic grin. Her eyes narrowed and she seemed to lose the mad appearance about her, returning to the cold, calculating self that dominated her personality.

"Help? Do you take me for a fool?" she said coldly, "I'm not going away. You're not sending me off to some mad-house."

"No! That's not what I meant-"

"Shut up!" Mayuhorin yelled, "It's clear to me that if I'm going to have you, it's now going to have to be accomplished by force. I'll leave you with no choice but to accept me as the only thing you'll ever have." Mayuhorin took the knife back out and began walking towards Momo.

"No!" Toushiro yelled, tackling Mayuhorin to the ground. They scuffled a bit, but Mayuhorin soon emerged on top, pinning Toushiro down.

"Don't worry Toushiro, after she's gone you'll soon be completely broken and malleable. We'll go back home, and from then on it will be just us!" Mayuhorin said, "Don't resist, or else I'll have to break you completely. In case you're wondering how I'll do it, I think that forcing you to eat your friend over there should do the trick. How's this: First I'll cut your heels and lock you away in the basement. Of course to ensure that no one becomes aware, I'll have to finish off Rukia and take out Ukitake and Orihime before I do much else. Anyways, I keep you locked away with nothing to eat but dear little Momo. I know that you're thinking that there's no way you'd eat your own friend, but hunger can have a peculiar effect on people. I originally planned to let her rot and be eaten by scavengers, but this idea is even better. I'll cut her up into nice pieces of meat and give them to you after many weeks of hunger. You'll of course have no choice but to eat her, and that will so traumatize you that you'll soon be as loyal as a dog. You'll have nothing but me, and forget all anger you feel right now towards me. I'll treat you well. I probably won't be able to let you out until I have you completely trained, but in the meantime I'll treat you well. I even plan to be your lover. The incest aspect repels you right now, I know, but soon you'll come to think of me as much more than a mere sister, and realize that anything less than total intimacy between us does not do our relationship justice. Yes, it will all work out in the end! Just the two of us, together forever!"

Mayuhorin held down the struggling Toushiro and lowered her head down to give Toushiro a kiss. A disgusted Toushiro tried to pull away but she held him firmly in place. Suddenly there was a shout, and Mayuhorin looked up just in time to see Momo's fist flying towards her face. The impact sent her staggering back, and moments later Momo threw her entire body against her, knocking her back further.

Growling, Mayuhorin tried to take out the knife, but Momo immediately knocked it from her hands, picking it up and throwing it into a large mud puddle where it disappeared into the mucky water. Mayuhorin managed to shove Momo off of her and began to run off, glancing over her shoulder with a smirk. Momo immediately chased after her. Toushiro hastily got up, but slipped on the muddy ground several times before he was able to follow after them.

Momo chased after Mayuhorin, filled with anger towards her for having hurt Mayuhorin. She ignored her earlier wounds, she focused only on catching Mayuhorin. She ran after her through the forest, jumping over logs and weaving around trees. Toushiro followed behind with great difficulty, his shortness making it difficult for him to get through the dense undergrowth. The rain and the mud puddles were making progress even more difficult.

"Wait Momo, stop!" he yelled, "She's dangerous! Don't put yourself in harm's way!"

Momo ignored him. She felt so much anger towards Mayuhorin that she barely heard Toushiro. Mayuhorin had hurt Toushiro horribly. She betrayed his trust and had been manipulating him his entire life. She murdered their little sister and tore their family apart. She had hurt both Momo and Rukia as well. She couldn't be allowed to get away.

As they ran, they began hearing a rushing sound. Momo continued looking straight ahead, and saw that the distant figure of Mayuhorin had stopped. She continued running as fast as she could, eventually realizing that the forest was thinning. The rushing sound was getting louder, and Momo soon recognized it as the sound of running water. When she caught up to Mayuhorin, she saw the water that had been making the noise.

Behind Mayuhorin was a rough and violent river that was flowing extremely fast, fed by the heavy rains. It churned and crashed violently into rocks. Mayuhorin smiled evilly at Momo.

"You see? I told you that this river gets a lot rougher when it rains!" she said, "So Momo, do you think you could get out of there if I threw you in?"

"That's not going to happen," Momo said, approaching Mayuhorin. She clenched her fist and drew it back to punch her, but Mayuhorin rushed against her, tackling Momo to the ground before she had the chance.

"Momo!" Toushiro yelled, "Mo-" He cut off, suddenly completely still. He looked at the river ahead of him, and found himself suddenly completely paralyzed with fear. Images of Yuuki's limp body being smashed into rocks by a raging river flashed through his head. He completely froze up, unable to move. Mayuhorin looked up at him and grinned.

"Oh, that's right Toushiro! You're afraid of rivers aren't you? Yes, I know about that. I also know that even if you managed to overcome your fears about other bodies of water, you'll never be able to force yourself to get any closer to this river! Now sit back and watch as Momo dies!"

Mayuhorin laughed madly. Momo took the opportunity and shoved her knee into Mayuhorin's stomach, forcing her off of her. Mayuhorin glared and punched Momo in her stomach. Momo groaned in pain, the punch hitting her earlier stab wound. Before she even had a chance to recover, Mayuhorin punched her again, this time in the chest.

Despite the pain, Momo fought back. She punched repeatedly at Mayuhorin, most of the blows being dodged but a few lucky ones hitting her. She kicked at Mayuhorin's side, sending her staggering back. Screaming, Momo jumped onto Mayuhorin's back and forced her to the ground. She wildly swung her fists at the back of Mayuhorin's head. She grabbed Mayuhorin by the arms and slammed her against the ground. She was so angry at her for hurting Toushiro, she abandoned her normally peaceful ways and focused entirely on hurting Mayuhorin as badly as she could. If the opportunity presented itself, she was even prepared to kill her, such was her fury.

Mayuhorin jabbed her elbow back, hitting Momo in the ribs and causing her to recoil enough for Mayuhorin to throw her off of her. Not wanting to give Mayuhorin the choice for retaliation, Momo picked up a large rock and tried to hit her over the head with it. Mayuhorin caught her by the wrist however, and with a swift yank pulled her to the ground. She grabbed Momo's other wrist and held her to the ground, squeezing her wrists so tightly that Momo instinctively let go of the rock. Momo tried to kick out against her, but she was too strong, and kept her firmly pinned down.

"I'm sure going to have fun with Toushiro after you're out of the picture," Mayuhorin said, "I expect him to be a bit combative at first, but after a while I'm sure he will soon be so broken that he'll be a completely loyal pet to me." Momo's eyes widened in anger, and despite Mayuhorin's firm grasp on her hands, punched her right in the face. Mayuhorin backed away, standing upright. She glared at Momo, wiping away a bit of blood from her face.

"It looks like I can't go easy on you for much longer," she said. Suddenly she stomped on Momo's stomach. Momo nearly screamed as a sharp pain went through her. She tried to sit up but ended up keeling over, her eyes wide as she began retching. Disgusting noises came from her throat as she retched in agonizing pain. After a minute, she vomited up a repulsive mix of blood and bile, clutching her stomach in agony.

Mayuhorin grabbed Momo by the hair, lifting her limp body up and throwing it against a tree. She grabbed Momo by the throat and pinned her against the tree, and began violently punching Momo in the face. Momo felt too weak to fight back. Mayuhorin's fists collided with her painfully, and her face was soon bruised and bloody. Tears were running down Momo's face as she was mercilessly beaten.

Toushiro could only watch in horror as Mayuhorin beat Momo. He was still unable to move, his fear of the river overriding his desire to protect Momo. He hated himself for being so weak and cowardly, but could not force himself to act differently no matter how hard he tried. He could only watch helplessly as his sister beat Momo without mercy. He had little doubt that she would kill his friend, yet still he could not move. He felt paralyzed, unable to do anything.

Mayuhorin punched Momo again, her fist spattered with Momo's blood. She smiled in satisfaction at Momo's bruised face, blood coming from her nose and a split lip. In places the skin had broken from the horrible beating. Her face was swollen and covered in bruises.

"You always had such a pretty face Momo, but I doubt Toushiro will like it much now!" she laughed. Momo breathed slowly, barely able to keep her eyes open.

"No…" she said, "To Toushiro I'm still more beautiful than you."

"What was that?" Mayuhorin asked.

"You…heard me," Momo gasped, "I'm still more beautiful than you. Destroying my face won't change that. You on the other hand are an inhuman monster. There's no way anyone could consider you beautiful knowing what you've done. How…how could any person kill their own little sister?"

"It was easy. It took only the slight push of a tree. She provided the perfect opportunity and I took it. Yuuki needed to go, she was obstructing my relationship with Toushiro. Just like you," Mayuhorin said, "You're really just like Yuuki, you know that? Sweet, innocent, gentle, and causing Toushiro to lose his dependence on me. And of course, I wasn't able to effectively manipulate either of you. In the end though, you'll both share the same fate."

Mayuhorin grabbed Momo by the arm and dragged her limp body to the side of the river, the roar of the crashing water deafening.

"You hear that noise in the distance Momo? That's the waterfall I told you about before. It's much bigger than the one I showed you, and assuming you don't drown before then, it is certain to kill you."

"Stop it 'Rin!" Toushiro yelled. Mayuhorin turned and smiled sweetly at Toushiro before pushing Momo off the edge and into the water.

"NO!!!" Toushiro screamed, suddenly breaking into a run, his love for Momo overcoming his fear of the river.

Mayuhorin laughed madly, when, just before being swept away, Momo grabbed onto her ankle and pulled her in as well. Mayuhorin gave a yell of anger and tried to swim against the current, but it was too fast. She was rushed downriver alongside Momo, who, verging on unconsciousness was smashed against rocks, her limp body bobbing up and down in the water.

Toushiro's eyes were filled with tears as the fierce river dragged them away. He ran alongside the river, keeping up with them as they got closer and closer to the waterfall. He frantically tried to think of something he could do, but there was nothing that he could do. Both were being drawn towards the waterfall and certain death.

As he ran alongside the river however, the currents suddenly shifted to take Momo closer to the bank. Taking the opportunity, Toushiro leapt forward and grabbed Momo. He was just barely able to catch hold of her hand. The waters continued pulling at Momo, and he would have been pulled in too had he not hooked his feet around a tree root sticking out of the ground, anchoring himself to the land. Mayuhorin, flowing right behind Momo, reached out, and he somehow managed to catch her hand as well. Both of them were being pulled at by the river, and Toushiro wasn't sure how much longer he could hold on.

He tried to pull them out, but between his precarious position and the extreme force of the river, he was unable to. He held tightly onto them, but knew he wouldn't be able to pull them both in. Momo was nearly unconscious, and could only look at him with her soft brown eyes. Mayuhorin meanwhile was begging Toushiro to save her.

"Toushiro, please! I'm your sister! I may soon be the only family you have left! I'm sorry for everything I did to hurt you, I only did them because the bad thoughts made me! I had no choice but to submit to them and be the way they wanted! I only wanted to be with you all this time, that's all that really matters to me! I love you Toushiro! The other me didn't care about you, but she was the only one who could do everything I needed to do! I had no choice but to become her! I love you Toushiro, don't let go!" Mayuhorin screamed and begged pitifully, repeating mad gibberish and begging for Toushiro to save her.

As Mayuhorin begged, Toushiro felt his grip on Momo slipping. She was too weak to hold on to him, and he knew it would only be a few more moments before he was unable to hold on any longer. He looked into Momo's lovely brown eyes, and then into Mayuhorin's blue-green ones. He stared into his sister's eyes for several moments before closing his eyes tightly and letting go of her.

He heard her scream as she was washed downstream, her cries soon drowned out by the roar of the river. Tears in his eyes, he took hold of Momo using both hands and slowly managed to pull her ashore. They collapsed onto the bank, both of them panting heavily.

Overcome with emotion, they tearfully embraced eachother, neither of them ever wanting to let go.


	16. Chapter 16

Mayuhorin

_Chapter 16_

"How are you doing today Rukia? Here are some cookies that Ukitake asked me to give you," Momo said as she stood by Rukia's hospital bed.

"Thanks Momo! I'm doing much better!" Rukia said, "What about you?"

"Oh, I should be able to go home by tomorrow. In all honesty I feel good enough to go home now, but they insisted I stay a little longer," Momo said.

It had been a week since Mayuhorin's death. In that time, everyone was informed of the true nature of Yuuki's death, along with Mayuhorin's other crimes. Needless to say, this caused quite a commotion. There was a police investigation into how such things could have occurred without their knowing, and Rukia's late father was cleared of the crimes Mayuhorin had framed him for. As news spread of the young girl who killed her sister and manipulated the police and her family for over five years, reporters from around the region descended upon the small town, digging for information on the highly sensationalized story. The papers came up with various explanations for Mayuhorin's behavior. Several made allegations of child abuse being at fault, others blamed various psychological disorders, several tabloids claimed that she was a diehard Hannibal Lecter fan, and at least one newspaper declared her to be the devil-incarnate. Personally, Momo was most inclined to believe the lattermost claim.

Momo herself had largely been spared the media onslaught, being hospitalized for several broken ribs, a ruptured stomach, the stab wound, and a minor skull fracture. She was very lucky that her injuries were not worse. She still had a lot of bruising, and she was frequently in pain, but she had emerged with less harm than expected. Toushiro on the other hand was far worse off right now. He may not have had as many physical injuries, but the emotional ones he carried were every bit as bad. Mayuhorin was his sister. He trusted her and loved her. Some of his fondest memories were of her. Now that he knew the truth, he was in severe emotional shock. Momo had learned from Ukitake that Toushiro was undergoing psychiatric evaluation and counseling, with little progress. Momo could not imagine what it must have been like for him, to have someone so loved and trusted betray you, and for all memories of that person to be tainted. Momo knew that if it were her in that position, she would not fare well.

"Momo? Is something wrong?" Rukia asked.

"Oh, no, not at all!" Momo said, realizing that she had been staring off into space, "I'd better get going back to my room now!"

She excused herself from Rukia's hospital room and headed back to her own. She was allowed to visit Rukia from time to time, but she was still supposed to spend most of her time in bed. She winced a little at the pain in her side, where they had performed a minor surgery to repair her ruptured stomach wall. Despite the numerous pains and aches she felt, she wanted to get back soon. Toushiro needed her now more than ever.

It was Toushiro who took her back to town, by which time she was unconscious. When she came to, she was in a hospital room. Toushiro was the first to visit, but he said nothing, and in her weakened stated, neither had Momo. Since then he had only visited twice, both times only briefly saying hello before leaving. Ukitake had filled her in on the details, most notably how hard Toushiro was taking everything. Momo wanted to get back as soon as possible. Toushiro needed her; she had to go to him in his time of need.

She walked through the halls, passing medical personnel as she made her way to her room. When she arrived there, she was surprised to see that it was not empty. Toushiro stood next to her empty bed.

"Toushiro?" she said quietly. He gave a small jump and turned around. He was quite pale and his eyes lacked their usual intensity.

"Oh, hi Momo," he said in a strained voice, "Sorry, I was looking for you and you weren't here and I was beginning to get worried about you. Here, let me help you back into bed, you shouldn't be walking around so much."

"I'm fine Toushiro, you should be worrying about yourself right now," Momo said as Toushiro tried to help her into bed, with her reluctantly going along with it. "You look like you haven't slept in days!"

"I'm taking sedatives in the evening to help me sleep, but they only help a little," Toushiro admitted, "But don't worry about me! You still have a lot of healing to do, and if you're going to get better you have to stay in bed!"

"I'm fine," Momo said. They were silent for a moment, until Momo finally decided to bring up a new subject. "I heard your mom is getting better," she said. Toushiro's eyes brightened a little but soon returned to their dull state.

"Yeah…I was worried this whole…_incident_ would make her worse, but according to Ukitake she's starting to improve. We're probably going back home as soon as you're better. There's nothing here for me now," Toushiro said bitterly, "This entire place is full of nothing but bad memories that I want to forget as soon as possible."

"I'll be glad to be back home," Momo said, "My parents have been calling every day, worried sick about me. This town is nice, but it's just not home."

They were silent for several minutes, when Toushiro abruptly spoke.

"I'm sorry," he said in a pained voice.

"For what?" Momo said in surprise.

"For not believing you. If I had believed you in the first place, you wouldn't be hurt right now," he said, "I…I just…I just…I have to go."

Toushiro quickly exited the room, leaving a concerned Momo behind.

---

Toushiro was lying in bed, his face turned to the wall. Although he would never admit it, tears were in his eyes. He had never been the type to cry, but now there was no way he could stop the flow of tears. Mayuhorin, _'Rin_, had killed his little sister. She had tortured Momo and Rukia. She had completely betrayed his trust, and every memory involving her was now tainted. It seemed impossible, for someone he so loved and cherished for so many years to suddenly reveal herself as a monster.

He didn't know how he would go on. Both of his sisters were now dead. His perceptions of his entire life had been shattered. Everything in his life related to Mayuhorin was now soiled with the knowledge of what she was really like. He still wondered what it was that caused Mayuhorin to be the way she was. Was she always like that? Did she become that? Was she completely evil, or was there a small bit of goodness in her when she died. He sighed. Everything was just so painful, even to simply think about.

There was a creak, and he turned to see that the door was opening, a figure outlined against the golden lights of the hall.

"Ukitake?" he asked.

"No, it's me."

Toushiro sat up immediately, recognizing the voice.

"Momo? What are you doing here? You're supposed to be at the hospital!"

"I was released early," Momo said gently, "I knew I was needed here."

"You shouldn't have come! You should have stayed at the hospital! You should have-"

He was interrupted as Momo hugged him.

"Toushiro, I'm not going to abandon you when you need me most," she said quietly, "Now please, let me help you."

"I…I know you want to help, but there's really nothing that _can_ help right now," Toushiro said.

"Well it wouldn't hurt to try," Momo said, lifting up the covers of the bed and getting under them, snuggling up against Toushiro. He blushed a bit, but otherwise did not relax.

"What are you going to say that will help?" he asked.

"It's not what I say, it's what you say," Momo said, "Just talk about it. That alone will help you. Talk about how you're feeling."

"How I'm feeling?" Toushiro said, a rough edge to his voice, "Momo, both of my sisters are dead! One of them an innocent victim, the other a complete monster! Both were foundations of my life, and were taken out from under me. And Mayuhorin…she completely betrayed me! All the years we spent together, all the time I cared about her…what did it mean? Was my childhood just the game of a sociopath? Did she care about me at all? I know that she's been lying now, but what things were lies and which were truth? I just don't know!"

"Toushiro, you're going through a lot of difficulties now-"

"This goes beyond 'difficulties'" Toushiro said, "My entire world and perception of reality has been lurched. If 'Rin could be so evil, what else is going on that I don't know about?! I don't even know how exactly to feel about all of this! It's just so confusing…"

"Do you miss her?" Momo asked, "Do you feel sad about losing her?"

"What? No, of course not!" Toushiro said quickly, "She was a complete monster, how could I feel sympathy for someone who kills their own baby sister? She…she betrayed me and lied to me and used me to hurt you! She's unforgivable! She's…she's…"

"She's your sister," Momo finished for him, "You obviously still have feelings for her, and you're not sure whether you should be grieving or not." Her tone was not judgmental, but it was clear that despite being understanding, Momo was not particularly happy that Toushiro may still have feelings for Mayuhorin.

"You don't understand," Toushiro said, "You couldn't understand. We were more than just siblings, we were twins! I really did love her! We…we were supposed to be destined to always be by eachother's side! The relationship between us went beyond usual bonds. We laughed together and played together and shared both happiness and sadness together. We were conceived at the same time, and grew alongside eachother in our mother's womb before being born together. Our bond is so great that it's nearly spiritual in nature! Even when I know what she did, I can't manage to completely hate her or feel happy about her death. I just feel like everything in my life is all messed up. I honestly don't know what I'm going to do."

Toushiro began crying, and Momo wrapped her arms around him gently, whispering calming words into his ear.

"Shhh, it's okay Toushiro; it's okay," she said quietly, embracing him. He looked up, tears in his eyes.

"I…I'm glad you're alright Momo," he said, "If…if I lost you, I don't think I could go on."

"I'll always be there for you Toushiro," Momo whispered, hugging Toushiro as they fell asleep together.

---

The next day was more or less the same. Momo and Toushiro stuck together for most of the day, not doing anything in particular. Toushiro was still extremely depressed, and Momo did her best to help him. There wasn't much she could do though. Toushiro was still struggling with the pain of betrayal and loss. He was also beginning to grieve for Yuuki all over again. Mayuhorin's words had caused Momo to realize that in a way, she filled the gap in Toushiro's heart that had been left when Yuuki died. This only solidified her commitment to help Toushiro. It may take months before he had recovered, but she was dedicated to helping him get through this.

To her surprise, later that day Toushiro told her that he had decided that he wanted to go back home later that evening. There was a bus coming that night which would not be back until the next week. Rather than waiting for the next bus, he decided that he would rather just go home now. This raised a few problems, but they still managed to work everything out. Momo would have preferred to have a few days to say goodbye to everyone, but found enough time after packing to visit Rukia and Orihime, saying farewell and promising to write them letters. To her surprise though, Ukitake was not there. Despite this, Toushiro was insistent that they leave that night not wait.

That evening, Orihime drove Momo and Toushiro down to the bus stop, where the bus would be arriving in a short while. They carried the bags that held everything they had taken with them as they waited for the bus that would take them home.

"We'll be back home soon," Momo said gently. Toushiro nodded, not saying a word.

Suddenly, a car sped by and pulled into the parking lot unevenly. To their surprise, Ukitake jumped out.

"Wait! Don't leave yet!" he called.

"Oh, hello sir," Momo said, "We're sorry we didn't have a chance to say goodbye to you, but Toushiro wanted to leave as soon as possible."

"It's not that," Ukitake said hurriedly, "There's someone here that Toushiro needs to see."

"What?" Toushiro asked, "Who?" The other door to the car suddenly opened and a man stepped out. Toushiro froze at the sight of him. He was short, a bit stout, and had neat white hair in a carefully groomed haircut and mustache. He slowly walked up to them.

"Toushiro," he said.

"Father," Toushiro replied curtly. Momo gaped at them. This was Toushiro's father? She had never seen him before, and was startled to suddenly see him like this.

"There's…some things I need to talk to you about. Young lady, if it would not be much trouble, do you think you could step back while we talk? This is strictly a family matter," Toushiro's father said. Momo was about to get up, but Toushiro grabbed her and kept her where she was, glaring at his father.

"If you have something to say to me, she can hear it too," he said coldly. Toushiro's father hesitated before speaking.

"Very well then. I see that you're not too fond of me. I rather expected this."

"Oh really? You thought that maybe abandoning your children for months on end might make me less than happy with you?" Toushiro said sarcastically, "You never even wrote or called Mom or myself, and May…and your daughter said that you were almost never home!"

"I won't deny it, I failed you kids," he said, "After losing Yuuki, and later my marriage, I ended up just focusing on work all the time to keep the pain away. In doing so however, I did end up abandoning you and your sister. I'm…stunned to hear about Mayuhorin. I never would have expected something like this…"

"How would you know? You never bothered to spend enough time with her to get to know her! For all we know, you could be the reason she ended up like she did!" Toushiro said angrily. He knew that Mayuhorin had killed Yuuki before their father had become neglectful of his family and obsessed with work, but he didn't care. He felt like blaming somebody, and his father served as an obvious target.

"I did try to help her," his father said, "After arriving here, I took her to four separate child psychologists. I was worried that her sister's death, the divorce, and the move would affect her. The first three said that she was doing great though. They said that it was amazing that she was able to maintain a positive outlook and that she was handling it amazingly well. The fourth one though, well…he felt differently about it. He said that there was something off about her, that it was unnatural for her to take such traumatic and stressful things so well. He eventually concluded that her behavior was really a mask that she used to hide her true nature. He hypothesized that she had Dissociative Identity Disorder, and that the mask that we thought of as her normal self was a cover she constructed for herself to hide her multiple personalities."

"Wait, so she had some sort of multiple personality disorder?" Toushiro asked.

"That actually makes sense," Momo said, "There were a few times that she lost her usual attitude and acted a lot more emotional and less in control of herself."

"The psychologist identified three separate personalities," Toushiro's father continued, "The first was her 'default' personality; that is, the one you'd expect a young girl to have, though he noted that she was rather emotionally needy. Another was a more aggressive, demanding personality. What really concerned him though was the third one. He identified that personality as being psychopathic, lacking the ability to control aggressive urges and impulses, as well as any sense of morals. This personality was the one that was probably dominant more recently."

"So what did you do about it?" Toushiro asked.

"Nothing," his father replied, "I didn't believe him. The others said she was fine, so I believed them. That was a mistake. Between not getting her any special care and my leaving for long business trips, I fear I may have made her worse."

"So it is your fault then," Toushiro said. His father sighed.

"I called the psychologist again last week. In light of the new information, he created a more 'advanced' hypothesis. Her first two personalities were the main ones. The first was mostly normal, and was dominant. The other simply made her more assertive, as it was not in control. Her main personality was pretty much a normal girl who happened to be emotionally needy and overly affectionate towards her brother. Her more aggressive personality may have made her a bit bossy, but everyone has aggressive emotions, and like them, she didn't act on them. These two personalities were essentially just like the emotions of a regular person, but split into individual personalities rather than just one that happens to experience multiple types of emotion. The problem came when that third one arose. Her 'emotional' personality was somewhat jealous of Yuuki, and her 'aggressive' personality had a lot of sudden impulses and anger, but neither would have hurt Yuuki. With the psychopathic aspect to her personality however, everything changed. She lost the ability to ignore her jealousy and emotions, and there was no way for her to put down her aggressive impulses. I suspect that this was what caused her to kill Yuuki. The opportunity was presented to her, and her jealous emotional side and impulsive aggressive side had their control taken away by the psychopathic element of her personality, and she killed her sister on impulse."

"I don't understand," Toushiro said, "This…this doesn't make any sense!"

"It didn't make much sense to me either," his father replied, "But it's the best explanation there is. After killing Yuuki, I suspect that her other two personalities panicked. Neither of them would have actually killed her. It was then that she constructed the 'mask' that she wore to hide the nature of her personality. She was able to act on all three personalities without others noticing the conflict going on inside of her. Over time, the psychopathic, manipulative personality became dominant. Her emotional side was warped into an obsessive and clingy individual. Her assertive side had all forms of morals and impulse control taken away, and acted aggressively towards others, becoming sadistic and hateful. With her psychopathic personality firmly in control, she became the way we now know her to be: Obsessive, controlling, manipulative, and evil."

"I don't know what to say," Toushiro said, "Mayuhorin…why did such a thing have to happen to her? Is it even fair to blame it on some mental illness? She still did all those horrible things. I don't know if she can be forgiven. I'm not even sure that she even existed as a kind person at all."

"She did," his father said, "I'm convinced that deep down, she wasn't really evil, just a confused and frightened little girl consumed by a monster."

"Toushiro…I think he's telling the truth," Momo said, "A couple times during the fight, I saw her starting to act really confused and afraid for a few moments at a time, as if she was coming out of a long sleep. At the very end, I think she may have even reverted to her true self entirely."

"But…but that doesn't change what she did," Toushiro said, "She did horrible things, unforgivable things."

"Don't hate your sister, Toushiro," his father said, "She is to be pitied, not hated. Her entire life was a battle between her and the demons within her. I think that if it was her, and I mean really her, she would be glad to be free of that torment. You don't have to feel guilty about grieving for her. By the way, I have something for you. I know that you've probably forgotten about it, but Mayuhorin made this for you when she was five."

His father took out a piece of paper, and Toushiro took it with shaking hands. On the paper, drawn in crayon, was a crudely made image of himself, Mayuhorin, and Yuuki standing in a field, holding hands and smiling. A big red heart was drawn above the three siblings. In the corner, drawn in purple crayon, it said 'by Mayuhorin Hitsugaya'.

Toushiro didn't realize he was crying until the tears began dripping off of his cheeks. His father gently put a hand on his shoulder before turning away. Moments later, the bus pulled up, and Momo tapped his shoulder to let him know that it was time to go. Toushiro looked up, tears in his eyes.

"Wait! Dad! What are you going to do now?" he asked. His father turned.

"Well, I honestly don't know. Now that your mother is getting better, I suppose I might visit you some time, though I doubt she'd be thrilled to see me. Take care of yourself, okay? And take care of your friend there. Friends like her are to be treasured."

With that, he walked off, and Momo and Toushiro picked up their bags and boarded the bus. After several minutes, the bus started back up and began to leave town. Momo and Toushiro looked out the window as the bus drove off. One of the last things they saw was the old house where they had stayed, and watched as it faded into the darkness of the evening. Finally, they were going home.

_The End_

* * *

Thank you to everyone who read, reviewed, and favorited this story! I appreciate everything! It's been fun writing this story, and I hope you enjoyed it! Please review!


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